I didn’t expect to go from a homeschooled wannabe writer to an author whose writing has been read in almost fifty countries before I’ve even graduated college.
I didn’t plan to go straight from my high school graduation to two years of a rigorous college-level writing apprenticeship.
You know what I planned on? Overseas missions. I wanted to see God’s miraculous provision for myself.
But it turns out I didn’t need to become a missionary to do that.
God can do amazing things right here in the US.
It started with a car…
When I committed to the writing apprenticeship, I didn’t have reliable transportation.
I’d been driving our family’s old minivan, but it was dying.
I asked God if this was truly what he wanted me to do, could he please provide reliable transportation for school, because I didn’t have any way of getting it myself.
Sure enough, he provided.
I got a call from my grandparents to tell me they’d just bought me a car.
It was completely and utterly free to me and–get this–it arrived the day I needed it.
My brother and I shared a car and we both had jobs that summer. But he was working a night shift. If I had dropped him off at work, I would’ve had to pick him up at odd hours of the night/early morning in order to share the car.
But my car arrived the day I started my new job.
The crazy story of my first full-time job…
I applied to dozens of jobs when I graduated high school.
I needed at least 40 hours a week. But it’s hard to find full-time jobs that are willing to hire and train you when you leave for college in three months.
It was really weird, because I couldn’t get a job. Places like McDonald’s, Chuck-E–Cheese, and movie theaters were all hiring…but I only got one or two interviews.
It seemed like everyone was hiring, but no one was hiring me.
I was even offered a job, told the owner I would take it, and she never got back to me!
It felt like God was keeping me from getting a job…and he was. Because he had something better waiting.
It felt like God was keeping me from getting a job…and he was. Because he had something better waiting.
Out of nowhere, my dream job fell into my lap. A full-time summer position working at a school for kids with special needs.
I got an interview right away.
I was hired right away.
I started right away.
It was the most amazing thing that could’ve possibly happened. It allowed me to serve those kids while saving money to afford rent/tuition/utilities/groceries in school.
My unexpected current job…
After I started school, I had two sucky jobs that ended with unfortunate circumstances.
Not everything is perfect, but God kept guiding my life. Eventually, he brought me to my current job (which I started a year ago this month)!
It’s hard. It’s wild. But it’s given me opportunities to share the gospel with my coworkers.
Sharing the gospel is better than anything else I could do with my time. So I’m glad to be there.
Be strong and courageous…
To all the high school seniors about to graduate: be strong and courageous!
God provides in beautiful ways. Go where he wants you, do what he wants you to do, and trust him for the rest.
If you want to hear more about the writing apprenticeship program, overcoming fears, and moving off to college for the first time, my school interviewed me on their podcast!
