Overlooked Opportunites

Seventeen years ago I was on a mission trip to South America. Our group consisted of 6 teens and three adults who met up with a missionary couple in Lima, Peru. Seventeen years ago I believed I was given an opportunity that I could not pass up. I felt I was having this lightbulb moment directly handed to me by God.

Seven years ago I was deciding whether to go to grad school. I had graduated from my undergrad program with a degree that I would ultimately never use for it's intended purpose. On a side note, I use a whole lot of acting in my current job...kids need to believe that they are in charge and that we are just playing games, even if I'm in charge and actually evaluating their hearing. I spent an agonizing couple weeks during my post-baccalaureate year trying to decipher if God was asking me to give up four years instead of two, to get a doctorate not a masters, to postpone getting married and having children to help others - no, I wasn't seriously dating but that's besides the point.

Two and a half years ago I was interviewing for jobs following grad school. I didn't know where I would end up at all. I had applied and interviewed with my current employer and was waiting on pins and needles. Asking God to give me an answer that was clear as day and bright as lighting at night.

What is the common thread here? In every situation I was asking God to give me a "clear" answer....I thought I needed a slap up the side of the head to know what He wanted me to do. I don't believe that anymore.

I think that He often will put opportunities into our paths that look like the ordinary. Someone once said that if God doesn't want you to walk down a certain path, move a certain direction, etc. that He will close that door, end that opportunity. And I believe that's true. He doesn't hand us blessings on a silver platter all the time, in fact more often than not they're subtle and can be overlooked. But we have been trained by this world, by others experiences, by our churches to think that hearing God or seeing the opportunities He has placed right in front of us is like winning the lottery. There should be balloons and glitter and a giant cardboard check that has the opportunity listed in the "Pay To" field!

Additionally, I think that when we're faced with two choices and we pray and seek His will and no doors close then neither choice is necessarily wrong. Either choice will bring us to the place that He ultimately has planned for us, the roads may look different is all.

So how do we not overlook the opportunities? By seeking His guideance for our lives and not looking for the ostentatious and overdone. By being more aware of what exists around us, the quiet and non-intrusive taps on the shoulder, by pursuing what is an option and believing that if He means us to go a certain way that He won't close those doors.

I am no expert of this and these were just some thoughts that were rolling around in my head this morning as I headed to work. When change is a-foot my brain starts turning and considering how I view things and whether I need a view-adjustment.