God-Winks

How do you know what the will of God is? How do you go about discerning what He has for your life--especially when you are faced with what seems like a giant decision like moving or getting a new job or getting married. What do you look for to see God's nod of approval?

I've wrestled with this before on a few occasions, and yes, I wrestled with this when trying to decide if I should accept the position in the DR. Since I heard about the position and since I've accepted the position, I've seen a lot of "God-winks" and that helps me trust that this is His plan for me. 

What is a God-wink? I consider a God-wink those little (and maybe sometimes big things) that some might consider "ironic" or "coincidental" or that bring about a little measure of peace. I would like to share with you how God has shaped me for this adventure, and am going to try to share with you as many God-winks as I can remember that pertain to me moving to the DR. 

1) I was set up for this about a year and a half ago when my pastor preached on Moses and the burning bush. Moses said "I can't do this!" when asked to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and God responded by asking him, "What is in your hand?" This has resonated with me ever since then--and I have continued to look at how God has gifted/skilled me and what passions He has put in my heart, and then sought opportunities that allowed me to use my gifts or fuel the flame of my passions (see A Holy Discontent for more info on that). When I started my job at Lifeline Youth and Family Services, I had the same thought as Moses cross my mind--"I can't do this." I remind myself that all I am called to do is surrender my life--skills, abilities, and passions--to God and watch Him do the work. This mindset has taught me to hold my life/plans very loosely in my hands, which means when God calls me to move, I'm ready to move. 

2) I have felt restless for the past 9ish months. I either wanted adventure or to settle down, so I made a deal with God and some of my friends--I was going to try online dating for a time, and if by the end of school (August 9) I was still single, I would re-evaluate my plans. I basically had no plans for my life after August. Beauty and the Beast came out in theaters and I found myself identifying with Belle--"I want adventure in the great, wide somewhere..." After a looking through all my options, I had become content with staying where I was at--living in Indiana, working toward my licensure through Lifeline, being involved in my church, etc. I have found--for the most part--when I wrestle with being discontent and then reach a point of contentment, that is when God makes things happen. That's when I got "the call" about the position in the DR. 

3) Prior to getting "the call," I had started feeling like I needed to get more involved in missions. I had started dabbling in the Missions team at my church, and we were planning a missions trip to Australia for the fall. I went to my supervisor and asked for permission to go (I did not have enough PTO to be able to go, so would have to have unpaid time off). If she said, "No," then my plan was to sign up for the November trip to Caribbean Mountain Academy (CMA) through work (being able to do low-cost missions trips there without taking PTO is a benefit of working at Lifeline). God apparently decided that I didn't need to just dip my toe in the water and decided to push me in (apparently God finds humor in things like that. 😀 ). 

So those are a few BIG things that God has done to prepare me for this adventure. Here are some of the littler, God-wink things. 

1) I wanted to move where there were mountains. CMA is located in the foothills of some mountains, and is not too far from Pico Duarte, the tallest peak in the Caribbean. God's sense of humor was sending me where it was humid instead of cold. (I like snow). 

2) The overwhelming amount of support that I received from friends and family. I expected a lot of people to warn me against going, especially when I shared it was a missionary position and I'd have to raise funds. 

3) They have horses. 

4) The number of people that I knew that already knew people serving there--professors who knew therapists, a friend who discovered he knew the pastor, etc. 

5) My church coming behind me to support me. 

6) Someone already coming to me with someone interested in my house before it is even on the market.

And finally, the one that prompted me to write this post--

7) Finding out that not only do they have a gym with free-weights, benches, bags, etc, but that the director's wife also does CrossFit. I thought I was going to have to give it up, or at least modify it and get really good at body-weight movements. It's one of those little things that, to me, is God saying, "I've got your back. I hear your fears, and I'm showing you ahead of time that I am going to take care of you."

So there you have it. The little God-winks and God-nods that continue to affirm my decision to move to the DR and minister to the broken and hurting. 

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Thanks for reading!

In Christ,

Cristin