On our way home we bought:
1) duck eggs
2) Gluten Free Cinnamon rolls
3) carrots
Can you guess which one I was most excited about?!
I've been looking EVERYWHERE for a GF donut. I love donuts. LOVE. I saw them in Russellville and have been unsuccessful in finding them since. UNTIL TODAY!
(It was yummy. Don't judge me for having a pre-supper snack.)
Today I got a rejection letter in the mail. Have I mentioned to you my fear of failure? Well. Not this time! I've told a few of you this story... but I think I need it down in writing. So last semester I applied for a Fellowship for the upcoming year. Two of my professors encouraged me to apply, and it sounded really interesting, so I did! It was working with neuro-developmental disorders like autism spectrum and ADHD. They accept one nutrition student per year, and I was that designated nutrition student! So I applied and was just kind of waiting to hear back. I even read a few books on ASD, which I really enjoyed. It really made me think hard about how I treat people. (Feel free to read "Look Me in the Eye"... great read.)
So anyhow... When Charlie and I were in Louisiana a few weeks ago, I felt like God -very clearly- said to me, "Stephanie. You're not going to get that fellowship. You learned what I wanted you to learn. Applying served it's purpose. But something better is coming along."
Fast forward exactly one week.
I get an email from one of the professors who helped me apply. She said, "Stephanie. I have no idea what happened, but they aren't offering you the fellowship. Don't feel bad, I have no idea what happened. I'm even on the board! But I would like to offer you an assistantship with me!"
Wow. Seriously?! If God hadn't spoken to me... believeyoume I would have broken down and sobbed. And when I got my rejection letter in the mail today, I would have broken down and sobbed again. But I didn't. I LAUGHED and was filled with appreciation and joy today when I got that letter. I opened it on our way to the movie, and Charlie laughed and said if God hadn't spoken to me, we would have had to turn around, go home, and spend the rest of the evening tending to my broken little heart. And he wasn't exaggerating.
This was such a faith-building thing for me. It reminded me of all the other ways God has worked things out for me. Like NOT getting into nursing school. Getting in at Minnesota. NOT getting sent to Oklahoma, but having the opportunity to learn the nutrition-side to what Charlie does... which is pretty incredible. I had no idea how much I loved it... but Food Systems is honestly (even though I didn't know it) WHY I went into nutrition. Or how about how God kept me and Charlie in contact with each other for EIGHT years before we ever met? What kind of kids do that?
These are the things that build faith and keep up going when we can't see the big picture. Or the light at the end of the tunnel. or when we're stuck between a rock and a hard place (whatever idiom you'd like to use.) It reminds me of "Hind's Feet on High Places" and how Much Afraid picks up a rock at each place she struggles through and later builds an alter with them... remembering EACH thing God has done for her which reminds her to keep trusting... to keep believing... to keep having faith that God is taking everything that is broken and fitting them together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that poured down the cross (Col 1).
So exciting to hear the ways that God is working in your life. I got chills while reading your post at the realization that He is so faithful and good even when His plans are completely unlike what we may have hoped for or expected. Also...we really need to see each other. 7 years is far too long...in fact 7 years ago today we were probably on an airplane on our way to Chiang Mai. What awesome memories and fun times. Let's make some more, okay?!!
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