In college, while waiting for the elevator, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and no one was there. When I looked up, there was a giant poster advertising a cultural immersion project on an Indian Reservation in New Mexico. I never heard of it before, but as soon as the elevator arrived and I stepped on, I knew I’d be a part of the project.

I interviewed for a job wearing two different shoes (don’t judge, they were both black!). My friends thought it hilarious that a girl in a ponytail and jeans was working for a very put together and appearance conscious company. I didn’t. I knew there was a bigger reason behind my new job.

The job I have now, I have because I called the wrong number. True statement. After talking to someone I never intended to get a hold of, I knew I’d end up working a position I hadn’t even known about minutes before.

Why did I embrace situations that didn’t make sense?

It’s the sure factor. It’s what happens when you don’t plow through life. It’s what develops when you let go of your agenda and allow God to plop you smack dab in the middle of His plans. The sure factor is being certain God will smooth out the details.
During each of these experiences, I was open, and as a result, I was changed. This is not typical Amy Sullivan behavior.

See, I pray to embrace the interruptions God lobs my way, but when He tosses, I am much too busy with my own plans to catch. Plus, sometimes, He tells me to do crazy things, things that are out of my comfort zone, or things that don’t make sense. Oh, I’m not the only one.

Think of good ‘ol Sarah getting pregnant at ninety. Crazy.
And Mary, who was happily planning her wedding and then bam! She found out she was carrying Jesus. Certainly, out of her comfort zone.
And what about poor, old, Abraham wandering around the desert for so long? It just didn’t make sense.

I want to be someone who lets go of fear. I long to trash perfectly laid plans, and I am willing to work at embracing the sure factor.

What about you? Think of a time when God kicked you out of your comfort zone and asked you to do something that didn’t make sense. What did he ask you to do? Did you go willingly?

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Amy Sullivan

Amy writes for both print and online publications. She is currently writing a non-fiction book about practical ways for families to serve others. Amy spends her mornings teaching sassy, high school students in Western North Carolina, and her afternoons attempting to correct her two daughters’ newly acquired Southern accents. You can find out more about Amy at her site: http://www.amylsullivan1.com/

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