You Just Never Know

A couple weeks ago I received an e-mail from a high school bff. She attached a couple pics from a time I visited her house a year or so after she married and moved to Oregon. I was in my early twenties at the time and taking a road trip with a couple of friends as a break after an intense time of launching a new program at a church where I worked.

In my memory, that road trip was a fun time with a couple of friends. That’s it.

But as I looked at those pictures, it hit me. God had his plans, and that trip changed the course of my life.

We had driven through the most picturesque parts of Oregon, through the forests of central Oregon to the lighthouses of the coast. Played on beaches and jetties and made a meal out of fruit, crackers, and Tilamook cheese straight from the Oregon factory. Even pitched in for a one-hour private plane ride over the Eugene-Corvallis area.

Then we drove back to California to return to our homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. On the way we stopped to visit a friend at a residential ministry for at-risk youth, spent a night, and went home.

But that friend got an idea while we were visiting. She wanted me to meet someone. I went out on a date, even though we started by me adamantly clarifying where I stood: “I know everyone is trying to set us up, but just so you know, I'm really not looking for a relationship right now.”

So much for that. We dated some more. Later married, actually having the wedding on the ministry property in a beautiful green meadow. Today we’re still working at that ministry for at-risk youth, and I’m writing for the teen/audience on tough issues.

Where would I have been if . . .

Stop. Not even gonna to go there.

You just never know where one simple choice in your life will take you.

Jan
author of the Live Free series, Standard Publishing

true stories, true hope

for teens, young adults,
and those who care about them.