Did you submit a response to Favorite Things #1: A Plot Twist? You can find it below! And if you wanted to read more stories or were considering submitting a story, read on!
(P.S. Do you want to have your story published on my blog? Leave a comment below or send an email to me at skellens@anderson.edu–I’d love to hear your response at any time–even if I’m a few favorite things ahead of you.)
Abby Johnson wrote: It was the morning of move-in my junior year of college. I went to bed the night before thinking I would be living in a dorm room for the third year in a row. I woke up to an email offering me and three of my best friends an apartment instead. The plot twist only continued when we arrived on campus and they changed our apartment assignment to a totally different building. Even though we were a little nervous about living there, we soon discovered how much we loved our new home and loved inviting people there. #Tara9 forever.
Julie Ellens wrote: You were a plot twist yourself Serena. We thought you were going to be a boy, that God was going to give us the perfect little family with a girl and a boy. Turns out He did with two lovely girls. He knew you were the one our family needed.
Moriah Hazeltine wrote: I don’t remember the particulars of this day, but I’ll bet we drove for hours. “We” being myself and a ragtag bunch of hooligan musicians on a mission through the desert of Mexico. Nothing but cactuses splitting through the cracks in the dry earth for miles and miles. Nothing but the same 17 people riding in the same two vans for two whole months. Nothing but discomfort, nothing but exhaustion, nothing but laughter and excitement and tamales and church.
Marc Ellens wrote: As we packed Julie’s car for our trip out east to Baltimore, it was clear that the Lord was making our path straight. After getting some grad school rejections (who needs the Ivy League anyway) I had been accepted into Purdue, hadn’t heard from Utah, but it didn’t mater because t was receiving a full-ride fellowship to John’s Hopkins, Julie had arranged two interviews with Christian schools in the DC area and we were headed out there for the weekend to find a place too live. We were about ready to start our life together, it was April and our wedding was all set for Aug 5.
We grabbed my mail on our way out the door, and wouldn’t you know, an acceptance letter from Utah. That was nice. They didn’t offer a scholarship or grant, but a TA position was something. It didn’t matter, it was just nice to have some more confirmation of our decision.
Arriving on the proverbial beltway, we got our first taste of east coast traffic. We visited John’s Hopkins, then headed to the first of Julie’s interviews in DC. Again things were falling into place, both of her interviews went well and we would not be surprised if she had to pick between the two. Heading back to Baltimore we started talking logistics. I would be studying in Baltimore, Julie would be teaching in Washington, nearly an hour apart fighting this awful I-95 traffic every day. This wasn’t good. And that wasn’t all. Earlier in the day I had realized that my full ride at John’s Hopkins was going to be too much independence, given that they were just starting to build the department. By the time we had reached our lodging arrangements for the night, we had decided that this was not going to work and we needed to look at other options.
The next morning we scrambled to arrange a stop at Purdue on our way back and I made arrangements to fly out to Utah. Our stop in Purdue was uneventful, with no real teaching options for Julie. Only Utah remained and it seemed like a long shot, so we prayed that our decision would be clear.
I flew out to Salt Lake City, leaving Julie to wait back in Grand Rapids. I met with the principle at Intermountain Christian School, and even though they didn’t have a job opening at the moment, he indicated that there might be a chance. I interviewed at the University of Utah and was introduced to a state-of-the-art computer lab, having produced world class innovators in the computer graphics field. Added to this was the laid back atmosphere common out west, the beautiful surrounding snow-capped mountains, and access to the arts and culture of a large city without all the traffic! It was clear to me that the Lord had redirected us away from what the world would consider to be the best option to a better place. I called Julie and asked her if she was willing to head out to Salt Lake and she responded that she would if I felt God leading us there. I took lots of pictures, took good notes, and headed back home.
We were married as we had planned on Aug 5 1989, and moved out to Salt Lake two weeks later. Julie got a job at Intermountain already that fall and worked there full time until we had our family. We lived in Salt Lake for 8 years, taking full advantage of the west, and having both of our kids there before heading back to Grand Rapids. That is not the straight path I expected when we headed out on our trip in April, but it was the right path.
At the end of the month I’ll be posting a featured story, and it could be yours! Keep reading and submitting for the chance to have your writing officially published online–I will select a story based on its quality and will give consideration to the quantity of stories you submit (the more the merrier!).
Have questions or suggestions? Leave a comment below! It’s free!
the Story Café 