Jen’s Gem: God has a plan for your life.

This week my daughter will celebrate her birthday. Yesterday, we enjoyed a family lunch, and I presented her with a gift – a keepsake bear made from a sweater my father used to wear as well as one of my own.  A matching pillow was given to my son. Old things transformed into new things.

April marks the anniversaries of a few not so great events in our lives. In 2016, my children lost their paternal grandfather and days later, actually on my daughter’s birthday, I lost my job. Double whammy.

The passing of their grandfather was expected as he was very ill. The job loss was a complete shock. There was no plan B. How would I support my family?

After several days of grieving, I attended a networking event that a friend had recommended. As part of the meeting’s agenda, each person introduced themselves, stating their name and occupation. Ut oh.

What was I going to say?

Never in my life had I been without a job, or some means of making money. Who am I now? What is my worth if I can’t point to a prestigious job title like these other people?

It was getting closer to my turn, and I could feel my anxiety levels rising. With my heart racing, I opened my mouth…

“My name is Jennifer Covello and I’m a freelance writer.”

Whaaat?? Who said that? I sat in disbelief and shock quite frankly. So much so that I didn’t even hear the introductions of the people who followed me. I was grateful that I had something to say but expected nothing to come of it. I packed my things to return home.

As I turned to leave, I was approached by another attendee who introduced me to someone looking for a writer.  The rest is history as they say.

Next week, I will be a featured speaker at this networking group. Talk about coming full circle! This was all God. He’s a Master at turning bad stuff into good; turning old things into new things.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV).

You see, I had no idea what to say when it came time to introduce myself, but God knew. He dropped those words into my spirit and out of my mouth they came.

He also placed a client in that meeting so she could hear me utter those words.  God’s purpose for me was launched that day – to share my writing gift with others, to help them to tell their stories.

God will do the same thing for you. Everyone on this planet has been created for a specific purpose of God’s. He gave each of us unique talents and skills so we could carry out His plan.

Our job is to identify these abilities and use them to bless others. It’s as simple as that and as difficult as that. Yet we know that with God, nothing is impossible. (Matthew 19:26)

It is amazing when I think about everything God has done since that fateful day seven years ago. There were many challenges, many tears, many pity parties.

That’s ok.

Moses spent forty years in the desert trying to get his mind around all God would do through him to deliver God’s people out of Egypt. Abraham spent decades waiting for his son to be conceived. Joseph was thrown into a pit to die by his own brothers before he took his rightful place beside the king.

The waiting is the hardest part, they say. I would mostly agree with this. What may be even more challenging is taking that leap of faith to step out into all God has called you to be.

Here’s the thing: God’s plan WILL come to pass, even if He has to give you the words.