From that post, if you continue reading my next couple of posts you will see how God did eventually provide me with my dream job. What I haven't blogged about until now is how God answered my above question about being at that daycare job. Over one year later I can answer with 100% confidence what his purpose was for me in that job. I bust into a smile every time I think about how what God did with that situation. Let me take you back to my first day on the job...
The director of the preschool had told me I would be working a lot with a girl named Ashlee. She described her as friendly and good with the kids. I met Ashlee and thought we would get along fine. I was thankful to at least be working with someone that was close to my age. Over the next couple of weeks I slowly got to know her. For the most part we were both overwhelmed with trying to take care of 15-20 2 year olds, but we would get the occasional few minutes to sit and visit with one another. We were able to even have a few spiritual conversations. I could tell she was interested in spiritual topics. I can't remember whether it was she or I that would bring them up, but God definitely used those conversations to plant some seeds in her heart. After about a month of working there, Ashlee asked me if I would go with her to a women's Bible study at her church. I was a little surprised she was asking me since we had never hung out outside of work, but I agreed to try it out with her.
Over the course of the next 5 to 6 weeks our friendship really grew. I could see that Ashlee was eager to grow in her faith. By this point she had shared a good deal of her life story with me. I could see that God was really working in her life. He was also working in mine. I have always had a passion for mentoring/discipling girls and women. I had not had the opportunity to do this in a long time. God was awakening in me something that had grown dormant. I also had not had the opportunity to make any friends since moving to Houston, so I was enjoying to having a girlfriend to talk with.
On the last night of the Bible study Ashlee and I were sitting outside the sanctuary at church talking. She was telling me how much she wanted to grow deeper in her faith. She had loved this Bible study and wanted more. This was the perfect opportunity for me to tell her that God had laid it on my heart to meet with Ashlee one on one and go over a Bible study called "Essentials." It is a wonderful Bible study that walks you through the basics of being a Christian. She agreed right away! We were both excited about what God was going to teach us. Together, we worked our way through the Bible study. We were both learning so much from it. Even though I had done this study before, I was still learning and being reminded of truth. By this time, I had left the daycare job because I had finally found a job in the counseling field.
After we had finished the study, Ashlee wasn't ready to stop. She wanted to find another study and work through it. She also wanted to invite another girl named Ashley (different spelling) to do it with us. I had met this Ashley briefly at the Bible study at Ashlee's church. Ashley joined us for a Bible study on prayer. After we finished that one, we wanted more! Ashlee ended up inviting another girl named Tess that she had met through school. Over a few short months we had gone from 2 to 4! We worked through another Bible study together.
By this time, we were all getting to know each other pretty well. Ashley had mentioned her brother and sister-in-law, Melissa or "Momo" as she calls her, several times throughout the Bible study. She ended up inviting them to a barbeque Philip and I were having. We all had a really fun night together. Once again, I felt God tugging on my heart to reach out to Melissa. I contacted her and asked her if she would want to have coffee with me. We met for coffee and had a lot of fun getting to know one another. She wanted to join our Bible study, but wasn't able to come at the time we usually met due to her work schedule. After a few more hangouts with all of us, she decided to ask her boss about switching her schedule up a bit so she could some to Bible study with us. It ended up working out perfectly!
That was just about 3 months ago. We are still all meeting and just now finished up yet another Bible study! God has used all these women in my life in various ways over the past year. I can so clearly see how he used that job to introduce me to Ashlee. From that point on, he continued to work in the situation to bring the rest of the women into our group. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. We have a very genuine connection and can all be 100% honest with each other. There is no fakeness or competition like you might usually find when you get a bunch of women together. We all love and support each other. I have seen God work in all of our lives. I would have never dreamed this would happen when I first stepped foot in that daycare over one year ago. I feel so blessed to know Ashley, Ashlee, Tess and Melissa. I know this is only the beginning of what God is going to do!
Over the next few weeks you will be hearing this same story from 4 other perspectives. I've asked each of these girls to write from their perspective about how they joined the Bible study. I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say! I hope that God speaks to you in some way through all of our stories. That is our heart behind all of this.
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