Hope and a Good Future [Part 2]

“I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me! I will let you find me,” says the Lord. “And I will bring you back from your captivity. I forced you to leave this place, but I will gather you from all the nations, from the places I have sent you as captives,” says the Lord. “And I will bring you back to this place.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11-14 (New Century Version)

[This post is Part 2 of a tale that I started telling you a week ago.]

If you have followed my blog for any length of time (like before I started my 30-day Early To Rise book challenge), you may remember me mentioning that I have felt like something was getting ready to happen. I have had the distinct feeling God was getting ready to move tell me to get busy again.

In the two-and-a-half years since I left my previous job in nonprofit healthcare, I’ve wandered in the desert for a while. Spent some time in the wilderness, too.

Meanwhile, I got my Personal Training certification from the American College of Sports Medicine. (No easy task, for sure. Especially for someone whose college degree has “Computer” instead of “Exercise” in front of “Science”. The exam probably isn’t very hard if you’ve spent a few years in Exercise or Kinesiology classes.)

I also began studying for a Nutrition Coach certification… and one of these days, I’ll actually get around to taking THAT exam!

Part of the reason I haven’t been as focused as I would like is because while I was grieving my dream job, taking care of my family and studying for my exams, I also lost my church. (The church my husband and I helped plant eight years ago went through some changes, lots of people left, and the church faded away.) We had to look for another church.

Eventually (after bouncing around for nearly a year), we found a new congregation.

We almost joined another church, but something held us back. It wasn’t until six months later that we realized why we weren’t supposed to be at THAT church… but that’s another story.

Delays. Delays. As my life went through changes, I began to feel as if I wasn’t supposed to use my personal training and nutrition knowledge in the way I had first thought. I kept going, anyway.

A friend at my new church decided a few months ago to restart a health ministry she had started almost 10 years ago. The health ministry trained and supported parish nurses and congregational health workers in local faith communities. It had gone dormant during the past several years, for a variety of reasons. She now felt led to take a different path and get it going again. She and I have talked about this new path for several years…

This time, we decided to add some preventive care opportunities and support (physical activity and wellness education) to the health screenings.

I’ve been working on two grant proposals for the health ministry – applying for start-up funding – for a couple of months. Research. Write. Research some more. Write some more. Edit. Edit. Research. Write.

During February (just a month ago), I felt as if I was on pins and needles almost all the time. You know that feeling when you expect someone to jump out from behind a corner or a closet and scream, “Boo!”? That’s how I felt. I knew something was going to happen.

And it did.

My friend contacted me three weeks ago to say she thinks the health ministry needs a Program Director for the next year (contract). Someone to tie all the loose ends.

She asked if I would be willing to take on the task.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was. I also knew this was “the thing” I am here to do. God was putting the pieces together for all these years.

I’m ready.

Are you ready? Do you know what your purpose is? What is that one thing you are uniquely designed to do? Have you figured it out yet? Will you know when the opportunity comes your way?