What Saying Yes to God Can Do

About this time ten years ago, I was sitting on my bed in my attic bedroom near Manchester, England. My greatest adventure to date was drawing to a close, and  I was trying to figure out what came next. Should I find a way to stay in England as a missionary? Should I return home to the United States and decide what I want to be when I grow up?

I needed a plan. I like to have a plan. I had student loan debt waiting to be repaid. I wanted to move out of my parents’ house. Whatever decision I made, it would have to include some level of financial security. I scrolled through job listings, emailed my resume, and even did a few phone interviews. Through it all, I had a sneaking suspicion I would leave England with no plan.

Sometimes I think God enjoys not providing a plan simply because I’m so bent on having one. It’s one of the ways he teaches me I’m not in control. By the time I got to that moment on my bed in England, I’d already graduated from college with no plan, started and quit three different jobs, and dropped everything to spend a school year in another country. All of that happened in two short years.

Looking back a decade later, I can finally see the plan God had in place all along. Saying yes to going to England was the start of something different for me. It led to more opportunities to trust God with the plan and follow him into good things.

Much of what’s happening in my life currently can be traced back to that first yes.

1. I can say without hesitation that I’m living in freedom from addiction because I said yes to England. One of my housemates shared her own story of struggle and freedom, giving me resources and tools for my journey. It would take another two years for me to walk fully into freedom, but I started down that path by saying yes to something entirely unrelated.
2. My faith is truly my faith because I said yes to England. Prior to my time there, I absorbed and regurgitated whatever others told me about God, the Bible, and what it meant to be a Christian. Various professors had questioned me about my faith, and I gave them answers I didn’t always fully believe. In England, I got to explore and discuss the Bible with people from different backgrounds. I gave myself permission to question and doubt and be okay with not having all the answers.
3. I’m living in Atlanta because I said yes to England. This is the most obvious link because I moved here to continue working with Josh and Shannon, who ran the ministry program in Manchester. The move came five years (almost to the day) after I first met them. We had kept in touch during the intervening years. When they decided to start a nonprofit, I knew I wanted to be involved.
4. As wild as it may sound, I’m writing for this blog community because I said yes to England. After I moved to Atlanta, I developed a friendship with Emily, who introduced me to the writing of Jen Hatmaker. If not for that introduction, I would never have been part of the For The Love launch team, where I met Harmony, the creator of The Glorious Table. My blogging experience, begun during my time in England, led me to join this team of amazing contributors.

These are a few examples I can trace back to that fateful yes in 2007. I was slightly terrified of what saying yes meant. I would be farther away from my family and for longer than I ever had been before. I was an introvert agreeing to live in a house full of people and spend my days building relationships with other people.

Beyond those fears, though, I was worried about what God had in store for me. I was waiting for a five- or ten-year plan. He was giving me about eighteen months. I wanted to know the final destination. All he was willing to reveal was the next step.

Perhaps you’re trying to decide if you’ll say yes to something God has put before you. Maybe you’re like me and want him to share more than just the next step. Maybe that step feels like a giant leap out of your comfort zone. I have no idea what you might be saying yes to, but if it’s from God, I guarantee it will be good.

Let me be clear, though. Good does not mean easy. I like to refer to those eight months in England as the most beautifully difficult months of my life, but I would not trade them for anything. Looking back from ten years down the road, I’m so grateful I said yes.

Katie Mumper is a daughter, sister, friend, writer, and singer. She loves Jesus, music, books, and great TV shows. Because she’s far from perfect, she is grateful for God’s grace in her life. She writes with the hope that others might be encouraged to let God make them new as well. You can read more of her work at beautyrestored.me.

Photograph © Michael D. Beckwith, used with permission