I was thinking of this very subject when my friend, Chris Pruett, posted this statement: “Recognize and value the process. When something happens to you, God wants to do something in you.”

Do we trust God’s process? I mean, do we really trust that He knows exactly what we need,  when we need it?

I remember when I was a young married, working at a local factory. It was one of the best jobs available in my small hometown, but I was dissatisfied. God had called me to minister to children and their families when I was only seven years old. I was leading the volunteer children’s ministry at my church, but it simply wasn’t enough. Yet I was “stuck” with responsibilities and a job that was too good to quit.

You probably guessed what happened next. The company laid off nearly 300 employees, and I was suddenly without a job and had no job prospects.

A few months went by, and I saw an ad in the newspaper for a van driver. The driver for this position would transport clients from a residential counseling facility to various activities. I was tired of being unemployed, and because I had been driving kids to church on a van for years, I decided to apply. However, when I called to inquire about the van driver position, the lady knew me, and mentioned a job that was yet to be posted that I should apply for.

I soon became the recreational therapist at a group home for teens who were court ordered to live there for alcohol and drug abuse treatment. God had just put into motion part of His process in my life. It was here that I learned so many valuable things that have helped equip me to fulfill God’s plan for my life to minister to young people and their families.

It was at this unlikely place that I began an optional, on-site youth service on Thursday nights. I found out that people who have lived in deep darkness can recognize even a small ray of light. For three years, I learned to deal with troubled young people and learned many counseling techniques that have served me well. Soon after, I accepted the call to full-time youth and children’s ministry.

What seemed like a major problem, being laid off, became an important part of God’s process for my life. I wish that I could say I had learned to unquestionably trust God’s processes in my life at that early age. But the truth is, this has been a lifelong learning process as God teaches me to trust Him.

Proverbs 3:5,6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV).

Are you finding yourself feeling “stuck” today? Could it be that God is preparing you for a growth process? Take a few moments right now and thank God for always leading you.