Part of the Story

Last night Matt and Lauren Chandler came over for dinner and Lauren asked me a question I get asked often since I am from Missouri..."How did you end up in Texas?" I answered like I usually answer and briefly told the story of God changing my heart and leading me here instead of the places I thought I wanted to go. After they went home we decided to drive out to Dallas for a Chris Megert (or Chris August whatever his name is now) late show because we hadn't seen him in a while, it was free, and we wanted to get a copy of his new CD. I kept thinking about that question and I realized I had been leaving out a part of the story that means a lot to me...that I will never forget. I kept thinking about it all night and how I still think about it often, but for some reason leave it out when I tell the story. So I thought I would just go ahead and tell it to my blog, but I guess I kinda have to tell the whole story:

I was in my Junior Year of College at SBU...planning on graduating in December. I was moving to Nashville and extremely pumped about it! For the summer I was planning on an internship and I had about 5 to choose from. All of them were festivals or labels or something of that sort. The problem was I knew I was called to ministry and I thought that working at a "christian label" was just that. I mean I had it all planned out...I was moving in with a friend for the summer and hoping the label or whatever would hire me on after the internship was over. I would come back to school for a semester and then move to Nashville permanently...I knew a lot of people in the industry so I knew I could easily get a great job (it's all in who you know for sure).

Then the day came when the Lord changed my heart. I was getting really close to having to decide on what internship I was going to take and I had no idea...I kept going over the different possibilities and I could not make a decision. Finally one Sunday I was at church...Springhill Baptist...it was a normal day...nothing out of the ordinary and I just heard the Lord. I knew he was telling me that I wasn't supposed to be in Nashville and ministry for me was definitely not having a successful career in the entertainment industry and I finally listened. So as you can imagine...it's a month before I'm supposed to move and not only do I not know what I am going to do for the summer...I have no idea where I'm even going to live! I didn't want to go home...I had already devoted the summer to training for my future and I knew I couldn't find that in Thayer, MO. So I pretty much had a nervous breakdown right in front of Bob Caldwell.

Bob was travelling and speaking all over the country at the time and I had met him when I was in 9th grade. He had witnessed a lot of growth in my life and actually been a big part of that growth through the Houston Project. Springhill was his home church and he was just back with his wife Joy and his kids to visit. He walked up to say hi and asked me how I was doing and I just started bawling. I couldn't control it! And just let me clear something up...I do NOT like crying in public.

He sat down next to me and hugged me and asked if I was okay. I began to tell him what was going on in my life at that moment. He already knew of my plans and I believe somehow knew it wasn't what I was meant to do...but never said anything. I just kept saying "I don't know what I am supposed to do now? This is supposed to be a life changing moment in my life and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

After I explained my situation he said this...and I will never forget it. He said, "When my family travels...Joy packs several suitcases for the trip. She will pack small ones for overnight stays, medium ones for a few day stays, and huge ones for weeks or longer stays. Do you know why she does that? Because when we are travelling, a lot of times we will stop and have shorter stays on our way to places we know we will be longer. She just unpacks a little each day until we eventually reach our destination and can open the huge suitcase." Of course by now I'm sure you know where this story is going. I'm still bawling and he puts his arm around me and says "Sweetie, you don't have to unpack anything today...all you have to unpack today is what the Lord wants for you today and it looks like you're already working on that."

So...I bawled some more and felt a lot better. It may seem like a churchy answer to some...but it was exactly what I needed to hear. After that I went to my favorite Barnes and Noble with either Kayla or Sarah...or both probably :) and we did our normal Sunday afternoon thing...we would read, talk, and drink coffee at Barnes and Noble. I decided to call Jeremy...one of my good friends because he had been helping me through the decision. I told him I had decided not to move to Nashville and I told him it was because I knew it wasn't ministry. As I shared he told me..."you have to call our manager, Tony." Jeremy was in a band I toured with throughout my first year of college and I had met their manager 2 times...because he lived in Sherman, TX and didn't get to come up much. I said "why?" and he said " just call him...here's his #...tell him what you just told me."

So...there I was in Barnes and Noble calling Tony Brown, who I barely knew and telling him my life story. He actually answered...which now I know is a miracle because he NEVER answers his phone...just kiddin Tony! I told him what I had just told Jeremy and he said..."well, let me tell you where I am." He told me about The Underground...a club he had started in Sherman that was known for being the greatest venue in the area. It was growing like crazy and he was looking for some help on some new projects he was hoping to start up....which is also really funny now that I know Tony. He is ALWAYS working on a new project :) It just so happens...Tony's vision for The Underground was "ministry over industry" and he was looking for an intern.

A month later I was moving to Sherman for the summer. I'm going to end the story here because there is a whole other chapter starting at this point. I just felt like I should share that moment in time, since I seem to leave it out when I tell my story all too often.

Anyways...thanks Lauren for asking me that question and reminding me of God's sovereignty in my life!