Not a Plan...But a
Purpose
It
was just last week on Wednesday at youth camp.
On
this particular night, Ian Grimm was in the vesper. Before the vesper Ian took the microphone and he told the teens this-
“God doesn’t have a plan for you.”
Yes,
you read that right— and I assure you every person in that sanctuary was
looking at Ian like he had lost his mind. We are told all the time God has a
plan for us, so what did he mean? But then he went on to explain that what
God actually has for us is a purpose, because plans change and are unsure, but
God’s purpose is a firm and steady foundation.
I was taken back by this profound insight that was just
spoken, because a part of God’s purpose for me had just been revealed that very
same morning.
I was eating breakfast with some of the other workers, talking
about how it was my sister’s birthday, when I got a friend request from a woman
by the name of Trudie Mitschang. I didn’t know who this woman was, so I looked
to see if we had any mutual friends. Not only did we not have any mutual
friends, but this woman was from California.
I was stumped.
Why would she send me a friend request? I couldn’t figure it
out, but something within told me not to delete it. A little bit later, I
received a private Facebook message from Trudie. Now I was really bewildered
and to be honest I almost deleted the message, but once again something stopped
me. I reasoned with myself that if this
message was inappropriate, political, or a solicitation I could delete it, but
I would at least see what this message said. Nothing, I mean nothing prepared
me for the words I was about to read.
Last summer my sister and I had an amazing adventure when we
attended the Immune Deficiency Foundation’s, (IDF) national conference in
Anaheim, California. While there I took a step completely out of my comfort
zone and volunteered to participate in the IDF’s Reel Stories. Reel Stories is
where individuals at the conference shared their story of living with a PI and
it was recorded. Those videos were shared to YouTube and the IDF’s website.
Trudie explained that
she worked for a magazine called, IG
Living, a magazine whose audience and readers are people who have a Primary
Immunodeficiency, (PI). Somehow she came across my video on the IDF’s
website and she was requesting my permission to share my story in IG Living!
I
was in shock.
My
emotions were a roller coaster of excitement, disbelief and I even wondered if
it was a joke. Logically, I knew there
was no way for this woman to know what she did for it not to be legit, but
still it seemed so surreal. So, I
frantically went in search for another adult’s opinion and the first person I
came across was Brian Baer. I explained everything to Brian and said he the
most rational and obvious thing- “Well let’s look it up.” Brian googled IG Living and discovered not only was it
a real magazine, but the endorsements the publication received were from
physicians who were affiliated with prominent hospitals around the country.
With this information both Brian and I became like excited little kids and Brian
kept exclaiming, “You gotta do it! You gotta do it!”
I immediately sent Trudie a message back and
gave her my permission to share my story in IG
Living and I expressed to her what an unexpected honor it was to be asked.
The next day I received over 10 questions from the woman. When I read them, it
became apparent I couldn’t answer some of the questions without getting
permission from the National Institutes of Health, (NIH).
My
main research doctor responded back with congratulations and excitedly
explained to me what I was allowed to say since the research on my gene mutation
had not been published yet. She also informed me that the NIH’s
Communications/PR department would have to give the final “okay,” for my
research teams names and pictures to be included in the article.
On Friday morning I received the news
from the NIH’s Communication’s Department that not only were they giving their
permission, but they wanted my permission to share my story in the NIH’s
Clinical Center Newsletter whenever the research on my gene mutation was
debuted!
Tears
filled my eyes, because when I began to think about the doors God had opened up
in just two days, well joy permeated throughout my entire body and soul because
the epiphany came to me that this all happened at youth camp.
You see, I missed a lot of my camp
years because I was in the hospital due to my PI and it was incredibly painful.
But God knew my heart still needed healing from that heartache and He allowed
these opportunities to happen during youth camp. It was as if God whispered to
my soul, “I’m redeeming that time, I’m giving you beauty from ashes, and I’m
giving you better.”
And
to think, all these opportunities transpired from a video I did a year ago! A
video that only comes to my mind from time to a time, and a video I certainly
didn’t think was watched anymore.
So yes, I think Ian was right- God
doesn’t have a plan for us, He has a purpose
for us. And when my story is published in IG Living in October and in the NIH Clinical Center Newsletter in
the near future, I’ll look back on that video and know that it had nothing to
do with my planning, but God ordained it for my purpose and my story He has
given me.
