Breadcrumbs

These "coincidences" (not!) seemed to be happening more often. Or at least I was noticing them now. I had been part of a Bible study by Henry Blackaby called Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God.  It had been life changing! While I had believed God was real and that the Bible was truth, I don’t think I had really expected God to show up—today . . . here and now . . . to me. I knew he worked in the lives of the people in the Bible—but that was the people of the Bible, more than 2,000 years ago. I was in complete denial that the Creator of the Universe actually had plans for me! And I had no idea how personally he would work in my life to make those plans clear . . . if he could only get my attention.

Looking back, I could see that these strange coincidences and timely promptings were like a trail of breadcrumbs that I could follow through the woods and the heavy undergrowth of this crazy world. I came to realize that if I was obedient to pick up the breadcrumb, I was blessed to see the hand of God—direction, confirmation, affirmation, provision. And I became ravenous for bread crumbs! Every day was like an adventure, mission impossible—made possible with God.

So, feeling certain that God was directing me towards apologetics and creation ministry I did meet up with that woman—from Canton, whom I had met in Kentucky. She returned the creation materials she had borrowed nearly ten years earlier and we talked a lot about where life had taken us since we first met. I shared how God had called me to HorsePower and how we had sold the farm and moved to town. It turns out that she had also felt called to leave her job as a nurse and, as she had said, they were in the process of moving, too. God had been using a time of unemployment to allow her time to meet with him, to read, to visit, to explore spiritual things. We visited easily and it seemed clear that she was led by God and seeking him. I found myself grateful for her yes to God. That she had gotten off the hamster wheel in time to be obedient to his call and to make that call to me . . . out of the blue, nearly 10 years later. 

As we parted, I didn’t know if I would see her again, but a few months later I received another call . . . would I be willing to meet for another cup of coffee? I agreed and we decided to meet at a local café.

When I arrived at Laurie’s Café, she was already there, waiting at a table with a dog-eared sketch book in front of her. Our initial visiting was more stilted than last time—it seemed that both of us were eager to get to what had brought us together again. I asked her, “So, what did you bring with you?” She fingered the edges of the sketch book and said, “I will have to go back a ways to start to explain all this.” I settled in with my cup of coffee, looked like just my kind of conversation! 

She started out by saying how there had been a Christian camp that had been near and dear to her heart for some time. My ears perked up when it became clear that it was the same camp I had just visited —the one I had been at when she called! Her mother had worked there for more than 20 years and she had spent a lot of time there growing up. Apparently, a couple years earlier, about the time God nudged her out of her nursing job, she had started to envision a creation center at this same camp. What?! Was I hearing her right? I looked at this woman across from me in an Angry Birds hat with tinsel pom poms, and hot pink and black striped, fingerless gloves, red lipstick slightly askew. I left my heart open to hear her words and let her share what God had put on her heart. She went on to show me the sketch book. It was filled with sketches and pictures and notes about what this creation center might look like. She shared that she felt certain that God had plans for that place. That he had ‘destined’ that it would be an amazing place of spiritual influence and outreach. Reminding myself that she had no idea that I had just been there, touring the lodges she showed in the pictures, I sat quietly and let her finish. 

She said once again how this camp had meant so much to her—and that things were changing. Her mother no longer worked there, the Program Director had left, and now (wait for it . . .) it appeared the Executive Director position was open! She had seen it in the paper and she had made a copy of it. She had been praying over the open position, for God to bring just the right person and then . . . she said, “I can tell you where I was sitting and everything about that moment.  It just popped into my head . . . Kaia.” She showed me the cut-out photocopy of the job posting—with my name written across it in pink highlighter.

I was nearly crying by then. I said, “Now you need to know the rest of that story . . .” I proceeded to tell her how I had gotten a call from the director the day my resignation from HorsePower had gone public.  How I had gone to visit with him about the horse camp, and he had ended up saying perhaps I should be praying about the Executive Director position that might be opening up sometime in the future. And then I told her how I had left there so confused, praying to God to tell me what this all meant. And that that was when I had received her call—as I drove away from the camp. She had my creation materials and she thought I might be needing them. Wow! The tears just started to roll down my cheeks, right there in Laurie’s Café.  

Was God really doing something big at this camp? Could he possibly be combining both the creation and the horse ministry that he had asked me to do? Was he really weaving together all the pieces of my life and could this possibly be one of the works he had prepared in advance…for me?! The words out of my mouth were, “But I don’t want this job!” And then, not too much later, I said sheepishly, “I guess Moses said that, too, right?” I looked at her, sitting across from me in her Angry Birds hat and striped gloves. She was a bit like my own John the Baptist, who in his camel hair clothes and wild hair and locust diet announced God’s plan and prepared the way. God had laid the opening before me once already and I had said, “No, thanks." Whether out of confusion, disbelief, rebellion, or whatever, I had said no. It looked like he was asking me again . . . and I was pretty sure I couldn’t say no. I looked at the application deadline. It was the first day after my last day at HorsePower.

After our time at Laurie’s, I just had to drive out to the camp. It was only about six miles from my house! I pulled into the long, curving driveway and parked at the base of the hills. My eyes were drawn immediately to an eagle, gracefully soaring over a valley. Somehow, I felt a sense of peace as I remembered bits of a Bible verse about soaring on the wings of eagles. My eyes turned to the west and I saw the three crosses on the hillside. I couldn’t help but think that Jesus had not wanted his assignment either, but he had prayed, “Thy will be done.” I felt a resolve in my soul that I would try to be obedient to God’s calling—no matter what it looked like, whether it looked like what I thought it should look like or not. Thy will be done.

My husband and I were up late, visiting about what God seemed to be so plainly revealing to me.  It was a great conversation and my husband was so supportive and so open to God’s will—I think he may have been glad it wasn’t a call to Syria or Africa!

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one

who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my

Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.””

John 14:21 NIV

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do

good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible.””

Matthew 19:26 NIV

“But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord.

Please send someone else.””

Exodus 4:13 NIV

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me;

yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Luke 22:42 NIV