Mysterious Ways

For posterity’s sake I suppose I better not forget to mention our latest big news: Kole got the job!!! And not just any job- HIS DREAM JOB! This is a really big deal. It’s not every day that someone can tell you their dreams are coming true. Yes, of course his dreams came true when he married me but that was nearly 10 years ago and so he is overdue for a new dream to come true. Oh, and when the kids came along- that too. But now he doesn’t have to depend on me and the kids for all his earthly happiness. Now think of Kole… what kind of job would be his dream job? Is it something where he will make loads and loads of money? Boy, money would be nice, but it will never be a landslide amount. But there are some very descent benefits- benefits that transcend the health and dental that you will find at most jobs. Would it be something that makes him famous and popular? Nope. In fact, popularity could be a problem or even a sin in this kind of job. Does he get to be his own boss? I guess he could try it but that would be a really good way to get fired. OK, maybe a powerful position? CEO or a vice president of some big corporation? No. And really that’s not even a possibility since being a CEO in this organization takes the hand of God to make it happen- literally. Flexible hours? Nope. It’s still pretty much a full-time gig. At least there must be a huge signing bonus, right? Nope. Not even that. Then it must have to do with a warm and tropical location? I wish! But it’s not likely. We don’t get much of a say in where a position opens up and we still don’t even know what city or state we will be living in (and they won’t tell us for another month). We’re probably more likely to end up in one of two extremes- either freezing our butts off in the middle of nowhere or worrying about being cooked alive if we accidentally trip and fall onto the pavement. Sounds lovely, right? So what is this dream job that sounds so un-dream-job-ish? Dunt dunt dunt dunt- he’s a SEMINARY TEACHER!!! I can practically hear the snickers from all of our high school friends- some of which actually had Kole in their seminary class. Yep, I can hardly believe it either. All I can say is God really does work in mysterious ways. And I am now married to a seminary teacher- which is pretty much my dream job too (It’s a close second only to the dream job I’ve been living for the last several years as a wife and stay-at-home mom) and I’m sure that anyone who knows my life history may be giving themselves quizzical looks right now too. But it’s true. A career in Church education is a blessing beyond measure for our family. We get to be a part of something really amazing. It means that Kole gets to spend his days doing something he loves- studying and teaching the gospel. I can imagine a lot of jobs that would be extremely fun and even rewarding for just about anyone, but I can’t imagine a job that would be as fulfilling as this job is for us. Kole has the opportunity to shape the lives of a rising generation of youth each day in a gospel centered environment. How great is that! And he now gets paid to study the gospel. Can you believe that? They are actually going to give him money to do what he has been doing for free for years. Yay!


Working for the Church, especially in this capacity is a unique and spectacular opportunity. After all, there isn’t a surplus of paid teaching positions in a Church that is widely known for having an unpaid clergy and lay members serving throughout the ranks. And it is not as easy to become a full time seminary teacher as some people might suppose. It’s a pretty competitive process that narrows the candidates down by huge percentages at each step of the process. Overall, only about 3-5% of people who start out trying to become seminary teachers actually get hired. Turns out that the Lord is very mindful of who He charges with the responsibility and blessing to teach the youth of the Church on a daily basis. And I know a lot of other Church members tend to take notice of the people the Lord has chosen for this kind of job. I know there is a certain amount of scrutiny that comes with the job. I think members of the Church in general have pretty high standards when it comes to seminary teachers and their families. I personally feel pretty in awe of the people I’ve met in the Church Educational System so far. Whether institute teachers or the other student teachers, I pretty much feel like the mouse in the midst of spiritual giants. I often look around and think, “How in the world did we get here? I have no idea how we could even be counted worthy to stand with these amazing and celestial people.” Honestly, it’s pretty crazy. If only being hired as a seminary teacher automatically guaranteed that we would be perfect parents, spouses, teachers and people. We have a long road ahead of us. The Lord is not the only one who knows I’m not perfect and I admit I feel more than a little intimidated with the prospect of people judging me by the high standards of how they believe a seminary teacher’s wife should look, act, talk and be... A lot of people say it’s like living in a glass house. Yikes. I am sure my kids will misbehave at the most inopportune times and in the most embarrassing ways. And who knows what exactly I will end up doing to embarrass myself and our family. While I wouldn’t say I’m excited for all the people to pick up rocks when they see all my imperfections, I feel confident that the Lord will help me find peace in Him when I can’t measure up to everyone else’s ideals.

For a while I thought the opportunity of being in Church Education would remain just out of reach for us. Ever being the dream but never being reality. When Kole tried for the seminary program 4 years ago and didn’t get past the first phase, I thought that might just be the end of it. But I’ve really come to realize that the Lord has a much bigger and more intricate plan for our lives than we usually recognize. I guess the Lord felt that we needed some more growth and experience before he poured forth the big blessing. It often seems, at least for me, that we’re hastily pushing to get to where we want to be and where we think we’ll be happiest while all along He urges us to be patient because He is ensuring that we not only get where we think we will be happiest but instead where He knows we will be happiest. But it takes time and a lot more components than we know. He is putting things in the right order at just the right times because He knows exactly what He’s doing. Sometimes it looks and feels chaotic, haphazard and unreliable to us, but it’s not. It never is. I have learned through sweet experience that there is greater happiness in being where the Lord wants you to be, when He wants you to be there, than in being anywhere else.

I know I’ve blogged about this before, but when Kole graduated from college almost 5 years ago, I thought we were just on the brink of him getting a real career. Our life seemed full of promise and potential. He got really good grades in school, he had good and hirable skills and he wasn’t afraid to work. But no one would hire him- not even for a starter job at the bottom of the totem pole. For years he was stuck in a dead end job that he resented. Finally we decided it was time that he should move from one dead end job to another. It wasn’t the greatest job, but it paid better and had better hours and benefits. Unfortunately, it would require him to sell insurance. Gag! Not a fun or fulfilling job. He had hardly worked there a year when he got laid off. We had felt so good about him taking that job in the first place and then out of the blue, it was just gone. I admit I did not see it as a blessing (even not one in disguise). It certainly didn’t seem like the Lord was in the process of getting us where He wanted us. It simply felt like a trial. Mentally I knew that God was in charge and things would work out alright, but I admit I still felt worried, discouraged and scared a lot of the time. We had hardly been getting by before and now I was sure we were going to be destitute. And the fact that I had just found out I was pregnant with our third child did not help the situation. Kole was out of a job for 6 whole months. We scrimped and saved and did everything we could to get by. And we not only survived but we thrived. It turned out to be such a blessing. Family, friends and ward members stepped in to help us. We somehow managed to pay all our bills. The kids loved having their dad home and I loved having him home too. How often do dads get to be home with their kids when they are little? We all really bonded and had so many happy times. We had 6 whole months to spend together. Talk about quality family time! And then just in the nick of time, Kole was offered two different jobs within a day of each other. But neither were what he expected or hoped for. Once again, it would be selling insurance. Thrilled is not the word I would use to describe his feelings but we still felt so blessed that we weren’t going to starve to death on the streets. We prayed and pondered about which job to take. Maybe in some situations like that, the Lord would just tell a person to pick the one they thought would be best, but it wasn’t that way with us. One job offered more money and a set full-time schedule and the other was likely to be less money but he would be an independent contractor and so his schedule would be more flexible. For some reason, we didn’t feel good about him taking the first job. It seemed contrary to logic since we really needed the money, but we knew the voice of the Lord and we decided to listen to Him and follow His instructions. And so we took the second job because that’s what the Lord told us to do. Of course now I see why. It was right around the time that Kole took this job that a friend inquired about whether Kole was ever going to try the seminary program again. At the time that Kole first took the class, he was told that he had 2 years to retake the class to try again to get picked as a student teacher for the school year. So Kole started pondering about taking the seminary preparation class again and trying to become a full-time seminary teacher. We felt really good about doing it and so he decided to take the class a second time. He found out that since he had last taken the class that the requirements had changed and they were no longer giving people two chances. Now it was all a straight shot through. I guess they decided that if the Lord wants someone to be a seminary teacher, then He will ensure it happens without taking extra time and years. But Kole got special permission to go forward. His seminary trainer that he had the first class had moved on to BYU but he told the new trainer that he felt Kole deserved a second chance. So that’s what happened. Kole got to be the old man in class with a group of 11 other young guys who were mostly newly married and just getting ready to graduate from college. We felt pretty old. We proceeded forth with him working his insurance job and taking the seminary prep class. When he was offered the opportunity to student-teach for the school year, we recognized why he needed this particular job and not the other one. The other job would never have given him the needed flexibility to student teach seminary in the morning and then fulfill his other job after.  In fact none of the other jobs he had before would have given him the schedule he needed to make it work.  He never could have pressed forward with his dream. See why losing a job can end up being such a blessing?  It was also at this insurance job where they provided an opportunity to train with a current agent to learn how to own your own agency. Kole’s boss encouraged him to try for this position and to send in all the paper work to become an “agent in training.” It would have meant a big pay increase and something to fall back on if the seminary thing didn’t work out. But miraculously it didn’t happen. And I’m so glad it didn’t. But it really wasn’t for lack of trying. Kole sent in the paper work and did everything he was supposed to. But the higher ups said they never received his paper work (even though Kole had the email to prove it was sent in) and even though Kole had done all he was supposed to, they told him they decided to give someone else the position so he would have to wait a year to try again. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise since he would have had to go to Arizona for two months of training at the same time he would have needed to be here to progress with his student teaching. Hmmmm. And the papers just magically disappeared? I think not. And I know there were many more examples of things falling into place… important observations from Church trainers and leaders always worked out. Things just lined up right. The ducks finally got in their row. He worked his butt off this year with doing two jobs which added up yo 12 hour days and then hours of lesson prep every night on top of that. He still had two church callings to do in his “free time.” And he still was an amazing hubby and father even though I felt like we saw less of him than we would have liked. I guess it’s only fair since we got 6 months of uninterrupted time with him. Throughout these last few years and especially this year and a half of waiting and wondering what was going to happen, we have seen each piece of God’s plan fall into place at just the right time- the Lord just kept insuring that things were working out (even if it was behind the scenes of what we could see and know about). And looking back even further, I can also see the way His plan has been developing for many, many years before. He’s always been leading, guiding, nudging, pushing and beckoning us towards something better than we had planned for ourselves. We did our best to listen and obey but I know He was making up the difference even despite our weaknesses. Now we are so excited for this new adventure that the Lord has planned for us. I am sure I will look back every so often- maybe at month, year and decade intervals and recognize how the Lord has been working in our lives to bring to pass His plan and purpose for us as individuals and as a family. I hope I can look back with my 20/20 hindsight in a few years and see that this career was the springboard to getting us right where the Lord wants us.

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