Okay, it's kind of bugged me that this thread hasn't been taken down, so instead of leaving this unsightly thing here, I propose we make lemonade out of lemons and make this a time of worship for God! I've heard the term "Hallelujah" defined as, "to brag on God until we look foolish." So, why don't we make this a thread to make hallelujah and share stories of how God has truly been an influence in our lives by sharing miracles, mysterious signs and leadings, and healings because He's worthy of the praise, and because our Christian faith thrives on not only the Old and New Testaments, but the Newest Testament made by our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who walk beside us in the here and now and carry stories and evidence of God's continuing active presence in our lives and our futures! Since I'm hijacking the thread, I guess I'll go first...
When I was graduating from college, I was unsure where I wanted to go for graduate school. All I knew is that I wanted to at least get a masters degree. I had a bachelor of science degree in Geology in hand with a minor in Chemistry, which was really just a minor of "convenience." On my way to the Bachelor of Science degree I saw that I was a handful of credits away from a chemistry minor, so I suffered through one more class to get it, but by the end I swore that I would NEVER set foot in a chemistry lab again because I had been struggling to maintain good grades in those courses and felt that I had gone as far as I reasonably could in that field.
I had applied to a program that appealed to me with the little time I had during that last semester, but even as I awaited my letter to say whether I was accepted into the program or not, I found myself questioning whether it was the right direction and, in a way, I was relieved when I got the "we regret to inform you..." letter. In the middle of May, I graduated and was not sure what would be next. Part of my problem with my degree field was that I couldn't decide which field to focus on in graduate school. The other problem was that I had made a mistake. I was focused on my classwork and final project and had neglected the applications to graduate school. Since I was so late in getting around to searching for a graduate school, I thought that I might simply take a year off to collect myself and decide on my next move. I felt like I was in a hallway of doors, all leading in different directions, but none of them stood out as "the right way." In my prayer life, I made use of that image and asked God to make the choice for me and not give me a chance to say no: to literally grab me and throw me through the door that was the right one.
During this time, my family offered the suggestion of a university that I had eliminated as a possibility because they no longer had a geology program at all. Nevertheless, for some reason their program seemed like a decent possibility this time and since they were still accepting applications and had good credentials, I decided to give them a try. The next thing I knew, I was being told that my application was being "fast-tracked" through the program. I was not yet convinced that I should go there if I was accepted, but like it or not, I was going to start in two weeks in a geochemistry lab with a research assistantship for the summer and I was taking two summer courses to get a head start on the program. (Remember what I said about hating chemistry labs?) Although I expressed my concerns about not liking chemistry, I had the same feeling I had prayed for: I couldn't say no, so I started working in the field of geochemistry. Since then, I have felt more fulfilled and more comfortable with the research that I have been doing than any other choice I could have made on my own.
God definitely knew what I needed better than I did. He knew where I was supposed to go and He made it happen. It wasn't what I wanted, but I can't imagine a better outcome. I guess when we feel led to do something we really don't want to do, sometimes that's how we best know that He's the one orchestrating the whole thing and that God has an impeccable sense of humor.
