The Next Step
Tomorrow is the start of something new. *Cue the High School Musical classic*
Tomorrow, I will wake up, put on a good outfit, enjoy a tasty breakfast with my husband, and we'll wish each other the best days. I'll hop in my car, probably listen to Taylor's newest single a few times as I drive, and pull up to a beautiful home in North Houston.
Tomorrow is my first day as the newest and youngest employee for Living Proof Ministries, the organization created and led by the vibrant and audacious Beth Moore.
To say I'm beaming with excitement would be an understatement.
Beth Moore founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of teaching women how to love and live on God’s Word. Millions of women have read her books and gone through her bible studies. Hundreds of thousands have attended her conferences.
She recently wrote this incredible article in light of the devastating Hurricane Harvey: (read more)
"Please don’t soon forget us. Don’t forget our rescue workers. Don’t forget our law enforcement. Don’t forget our children and our babies. Don’t forget our poor. Don’t forget our homeless. Don’t forget our elderly. Don’t forget our sick. Don’t forget our residents who suffer mental disabilities. They are so disoriented and afraid.
And don’t forget our community of faith. We will work hard and long together. We serve a Savior who walked on water. One who can still rebuke winds and waves and spit out the words, 'Peace! Be still! It is I. Do not be afraid.'"
God has really used her as an encouragement to many going through their darkest times.
As I was on the hunt for a job in Houston, my good friend Liz mentioned she happened to have a connection to Beth's Living Proof team, so she reached out and they were kind enough to look at my resume.
And about a month ago, I walked into the Living Proof office for an interview.
A few things about the Living Proof team:
1. It is comprised of 13 women.
2. They range in age from 25-70.
3. Their office building is a precious home in the middle of a neighborhood in North Houston.
4. They hop into three cars and all go out to eat lunch together every day.
As I left from my interview, I went to open my car, but when I put the key in, my car alarm started BLARING. Now, as I mentioned above in the second point, their office is in the middle of a neighborhood. So there I was, trying to frantically get it to stop, so as not to draw attention to my piercing alarm. I'm standing just feet from the door of the house, hoping the ladies inside can't hear it. But, not only does my alarm not stop, my car won't start.
I start calling Zach. He gets no signal at work.
I start calling my dad. He thinks it's a battery issue. Zach had just taken a look at it a week ago, and we had to replace it. But it had been running just fine for the last week. I didn't know why it would decide to give up on me right as I was leaving an interview.
I manage to get the alarm to stop with my dad's instructions. Still no luck with getting it to turn on.
Sweating in the Houston heat, I start to put my hair in a ponytail, when Sabrina, one of the ladies from the house, walks outside.
"Selena? Is everything okay?"
Me trying not to create a problem: "Yeah! Everything is okay!"
She looks at me with concern.
"My car just won't start. But, it's okay!"
"Well, my husband is just about a mile away, let me call him and maybe he can come help," she says.
"No, really, it's okay!"
Sabrina tries reaching him anyways, but can't get a hold of him.
"At least come inside," she says.
Embarrassed that I've caused a commotion, I follow her inside. One of the other ladies on the team offers to call the police officers that have their station across the street to see if they can come take a look at my car.
I think, "Oh great, now I'm making them call the cops."
As she's calling, some of the ladies start making their way out of different rooms in the house. As I mentioned in point number 4, they're on their way out to lunch together.
Sabrina explains that they're just waiting with me until someone can come take a look at my car. And with no hesitation at all, every single one of them agrees to wait with me too.
Then, Beth Moore herself starts walking down the stairs toward us.
"Oh my goodness, I am so excited I am coming down in time! I'm so happy to meet you!" she exclaims as she makes her way straight toward me.
"Hi, I'm Beth Moore!" She smiles enthusiastically and shakes my hand.
Sabrina explains my car situation to her, and Beth says, "Oh well, I'll just wait right here too!"
One of the police officers says he's on his way to take a look.
20 minutes pass.
40 minutes pass.
I try to tell everyone that I can really just wait outside. I feel awful for making them delay their lunch by so much.
"Nonsense Selena," Beth says. "We love having this time to chat and hang out, don't we ladies?" They all smile and agree.
"Come sit next to me, Selena." She's sitting on the staircase and pats the spot on the step above her.
"Right here!" she says.
So there I am, with my car alarm going on and off outside, sitting next to Beth Moore, talking about life in Uptown Houston and cats.
She's completely engaged in getting to know me, and for a few moments, I forget about the car.
After about an hour, a police officer arrives. He pops the hood open to my car, turns a little knob on the battery, and ta-dah! The car starts when I give the key another turn.
I run inside to thank all the ladies for waiting with me, and as they finally make their way out the door for lunch, Beth gives me a hug and says,
"Don't you dare feel bad about this Selena. We LOVED getting to chat with you!"
I thank Sabrina for the time she took interviewing me and waiting with me. I apologize for having caused such a delay for them. But, she hugs me and says,
"I just know this was God-ordained."
Now, here I am one day away from starting my first day on their team!
I have never seen such kindness and such care from a team of strangers. Beth Moore is a busy, busy woman. But, even in the midst of her own concerns, she took the time out of her day to sit a on a staircase, getting to know a 21-year-old (at the time) gal. I was not one of her employees yet, just a random girl stopping by for an interview. And she, along with the entire Living Proof Ministries team, treated me like family.
As I drove home that day, I couldn't stop thinking about that phrase: "God-ordained"
My car had been driving around just fine for a week. No signs of potential issues the morning I drove to Beth's office. But honestly, my car shutting down was a huge gift. It was like God wanted to gift me a little extra time with the women at Living Proof. What could have been a potential burden, was actually one of God's big displays of affection. He taught me in that hour that this was a team that would care for me, nurture me, and help me grow. I felt a huge tug on my heart for these women and their mission.
Just this morning, I was reading Beth Moore's book Audacious and came across this line:
"What are you most compelled by the love of Christ to do? What would it take to do it?...Identify one first step toward that direction, and, child, you will find the next place to plant your foot on your divinely planned path."
Right now, I feel completely compelled to go out and be a part of this team and their mission to help women grow to know and love Christ. And I am so happy that God is giving me my first step. I have so much to learn from Beth's leadership and so much to learn from the wise women that surround her on a daily basis. I can't wait to see the path that God will carve with this opportunity!
Tomorrow, I will wake up, get ready, and drive to what could just be my favorite job yet.