Hope for the Future

Proverbs 19:21

Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.

I decided to major in Biology. The plan was to obtain a Biology degree, with a concentration in Pre-Health, and pursue a career in medical missions. Though Palm Beach Atlantic College doesn’t seem like the prime choice for someone hoping for a career in medicine, I knew that this was where the Lord had me. I had prayed and sought wise counsel and decided that I wanted to go to a Christian college. From there I looked into five colleges and, after more prayer and more counsel, decided that PBA was the place God was leading me to. So, in choosing a Biology major with the hopes of medical school in the future, I knew that God would work it out. I knew that God didn’t need me to go to John’s Hopkins or Harvard to make me a doctor. I also knew that God’s plans were not my plans and that the best place I could possibly be was within His will… which He had shown me was Palm Beach Atlantic College.

I met my husband in the spring semester of my freshman year at PBA. Of our group of friends, he was surprisingly mature and incredibly humorous. We soon became close friends and, through a series of fortunate circumstances, became each other’s closest of friends. My family maintains that I “liked” him from day one, but I still believe I started falling for him in the fall of my sophomore year. The first twindge of emotion came in the thought, “Wow! This is an incredible man of God… whoever marries him will be truly fortunate.” That thought soon became, “I have never known a man with whom I have been so comfortable around and who makes me feel so lovely.” After a short separation because of the semester break, I knew that it was unavoidable. I had fallen for him and hated being apart from him… but I was confused.

Glenn was a religion major with hopes of become a pastor. God had called him to the ministry when he was sixteen and, since then, he had dreamed of being a youth pastor. I was a Biology major, with the hopes of a career in medicine on the mission field. I didn’t understand why God would bring someone so wonderful into my life just to disappoint me. We were both committed to what we felt called to and those callings didn’t allow for a future together. After a confrontation over our feelings for each other, we didn’t talk for eight months. It was too confusing and too disappointing. I was disappointed in God for allowing me to know such a wonderful person, but not allowing us to be together. I was disappointed that I had fallen for someone only to be reminded that those emotions were something I could not have.

God worked in my heart and restored me. First, He reminded me that He should always be my first love no matter who came into my life. Secondly, He showed me that His plans were not my plans. I had tried to figure out His plan for my life based on my skills and talents and forgotten that the most important thing was my personal faith. This personal faith could only be developed by a daily testing and pursuit of God’s plan over mine. My love for science and my ability to care for people meant nothing if I wasn’t pursuing God’s plan for my life. God didn’t need my skills… He needed my heart. And so, I surrendered. I surrendered to His will and was free to explore His plan for my life.

Glenn and I healed our friendship and, two weeks later, realized that we had never stopped caring for each other. We started dating on September 22, 1999 and have never forgotten what we learned, “Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.” This lesson has been invaluable as we’ve seen our plans change over and over again as we pursue God’s will for our life together. We were married in March of 2002 and God has always honored our submission to His counsel. My pursuit of the Lord’s counsel over my own plans and personal reasoning brought me to PBA. It was there that I met the man God planned for me. It was there that I found the future God dreamed for me… a future of faith and obedience.