The past 8-9 months have been such a miraculous journey. Yes, we've been pregnant and it has been one of the most beautiful seasons of life. However, that's not the only thing God has been orchestrating so perfectly. I'd like to give you the bottom line of what has happened in our lives, and then I'd like to show you how God has been so faithful along the way.
As of today, November 1, Danny is officially the Student Ministries Co-Director at our church. (And for those of you who don't know, I'm the one he's co-directing with...)
This is how the journey has gone:
January 2011 - We start advertising for the co-director position. As our student ministries grows, we have been committed to getting me help in terms of hired church staff. As the sole director of a 100+ student ministry, trust me...I needed help. We thought it would be a 4-6 weeks process. But no- no one applied for months.
April - As we were still waiting for someone to apply, I continued dreaming into the position. For those of you who are in ministry, you know how important it is to work alongside someone who shares in your dreams and passions, but is gifted in different ways. The more and more I thought about who the person would be, I could only think of my husband.
Whoa. My husband? Working alongside him? He was completely content at his banking job and, although he served with me at every event and on every Wednesday night, I wasn't sure he was "called" into vocational ministry. I didn't want to be the one to plant this idea in him, so I never brought it up. If this was what God wanted, I wanted the Holy Spirit to press it upon his heart. So I prayed about it on my own, knowing God would provide my co-director (whoever that may be) in his own timing.
Meanwhile, God was working simultaneously in Danny's heart. He had been dreaming about the position, too, but was hesitant to share with me. He was committed to praying about it and journaling about it on his own.
May - If you remember, we took an incredible trip to Israel in May. It was life-changing in more ways than one. It drew us closer as husband and wife and the separate dreams of being co-directors kept brewing. Toward the end of the month, over dinner, one of us brought it up as a joke. Wouldn't it be funny if you applied for the position? We laughed. And then we looked at each other with straight faces. It was no longer a joke.
Because we are husband and wife, we knew it could be a messy proposition to bring to the church staff. Neither of us have seen a husband and wife work in ministry so closely together, and we knew this would be a new idea to our church, as well. We made the decision that we would continue praying about it- both individually and together. We prayed specifically that someone within our church body would call this out of Danny. Until then, it would stay between us.
June - We shared that
a baby was on the way. We experienced the incredible joy and support of our friends, family, and church family. In fact, an elder who we very much love, admire, and respect took Danny out for coffee. What we thought was a little celebration
(Hooray- you're going to be a dad!) turned out to be a huge catalyst in this whole journey. Over those wonderful little roasted beans, this man asked Danny,
Have you ever thought of applying for the position? We knew that was the answer to our prayers. We also knew it was the green light we needed to press our foot on the gas and move forward in this process.
July - I brought all of this up to the pastors at our church. I have this idea- and if you think it's insane and there is no reason to pursue it, that's okay- we'll shut the door now. But if you have even and inkling that this might work, I'd love for us to pray about the possibility of... My proposition was met with a big smile. And our prayer team doubled from 2 to 4. We committed to pray about it collectively and individually.
August - Danny and I met with our pastors to talk about logistics. (You know, all the stuff like insurance and pay and job descriptions...) It went well and we all left excited, but still uncertain how it would work out. With a baby on the way, could we get insurance? Would our income be sufficient? What would the elders and the rest of our church body feel about a husband and wife team? Etc, etc, etc... We kept meeting to talk about these things and praying into God's will...
September - We met with more church staff to get detailed information about pay, insurance, etc. We found out we'd be taking a pay cut due to insurance costs. But we'd be able to make it. Things kept moving forward. The elders met and, although initially there were concerns, it was agreed upon that this would be a good fit. If anyone could work together as a husband-wife team, Danny and Kaylyn could do it... That's what we kept hearing. And our excitement and passion continued to grow.
October - Danny's financial package was finalized. We found out about renting his childhood home for less than our previous rent, which made our budget even out to what we had been spending before the job change. (Hallelujah Jesus- this was huge...) The job description was clearly written out. His desk was set up. He put in his 2 weeks at the bank.
October 30 - We announce to the church that Danny is the new co-director for student ministries. We were met with tremendous joy and support from our entire church body. We were prayed over by elders, deacons, church staff, youth, and their parents.
November 1 - I am sitting across the office from my husband...the love of my life, my best friend, my partner in ministry, and now my co-director. I am completely in love with both him and our Creator. And I am amazed at God's provision and faithfulness over the past 9 months. May our marriage and our ministry be a testament to how good, faithful, and loving our God truly is.
Amen.
