A Greater Plan
Jul 9, 2023 | by The Fellowship
My fiancé had been drafted into the Army and was blessed to be trained as a Medic since his lifelong dream was to become a doctor. He was immediately sent overseas, and our plan was to marry when he came back to the States.
Upon his return, our long-awaited wedding took place. We then moved to San Antonio while he completed his tour of duty. Next came a year of schooling in Lake Charles, where we both were raised, while he finished his college degree and applied to medical school. Then we moved once again, this time to New Orleans where he had been accepted into medical school.
By then our first child was a year old. A strong Christian, my husband was determined to carve out a little time for his family despite the intensity and endless hours the study of medicine required. Totally exhausted at the end of the first year, he felt medical school was just too hard and decided to drop out. So, we returned to our hometown and moved in with my parents. He went to Houston to search for a job to support our family.
I was very pregnant, just a few weeks from delivering our second child, and did not get out much. But one day a really good friend called and invited me to go hear our former Minister of Youth speak. He has been our dynamic youth pastor when we were in high school but had since gone on to pastor a large church in another city. I turned her down, but she kept insisting -- not wanting to go alone. I finally gave in. The event was on a Wednesday night, and she came to pick me up.
Once we got there, I immediately wished I had never agreed to come. Not only was there my self-consciousness about being so great with child, but I had grown up in that church and was soon surrounded by familiar faces and lots of questions. Thankfully, the service quickly started, and we sat down.
When this pastor began to speak, it felt like every word was directed at me -- and I knew I was supposed to be there. He began telling a story about a young man who decided to drop out of medical school because it was so very difficult. Through seeking wise counsel, he felt God wanted him to stick with it. He graduated and was used in amazing ways by the Lord.
In that moment, I knew that it was not by chance I was listening to that story, but it was a clear message from the Lord. The first thing I did when I got home was call my husband to tell him what had happened. We both agreed to pray as never before in our lives. When he got back that weekend, we talked and prayed endlessly – sharing our deepest thoughts and feelings. Finally, we got on our knees and placed our total trust in God to provide and direct as we surrendered to His will.
The Lord was faithful to open every needed door. My husband finished medical school, becoming a primary care physician, and we returned to our hometown where his practice flourished. But the Lord had even greater plans. In time, my husband began recruiting and leading a medical team each year to go abroad to an unreached group of people in remote areas of nations like Africa and China. As people in the bush lined up and gladly waited in lines for hours to be treated by doctors for the first time in their lives, they heard the message of God’s love for them and how He sent His Son to take the punishment for their sins. Working with missionaries on site, churches were formed so these new believers could grow and mature in their faith.
After 30 years of leading medical mission teams, my husband turned this ministry over to others -- and the yearly trips continue. One just returned last Sunday from Kenya. More than 400 new believers are the result of their efforts, and a new church has been established. What joy fills our hearts, especially because our son-in-law, also a doctor, and our granddaughter were part of this ongoing great commission ministry!
And your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, “This is the way, walk in it …”
Isaiah 30:21