Read

How the Search for God’s Will Led Me To “Mr. Right”

Creator:
Published:
November 28, 2023
March 20, 2018
This author details how finding the 'right one' was just a career change away, which she took to search for God's will.|Grotto quote graphic about finding the right one that reads, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." —quote by William Hutchison Murray.

I am a lover of to-do lists, of busyness, of full calendars.

I’m a firm believer in the adage, “God helps those who help themselves.” I tend to discount the need for “down time.”

So, when the longing for a spouse and a family filled my soul, you better believe that I was owning the Tinder and Bumble worlds like it was nobody’s business.

In a city of 2.7 million, surely I would find the right person if I went on enough dates.

This was my prayer, my plea, my can-do attitude when the grind of dating would start wearing on me and despair would begin to set in. For all I knew, the man I was looking for was just on the other side of a swipe.

Thus, you can imagine my hesitancy when an out-of-the-blue job offer proposed I take a job in a city with 2.6 million fewer people, far less variety, far fewer restaurants and friends — and not a single rooftop bar.

The voice inside my heart was urging me to give this new opportunity a chance, but I loved my current job, my current bustling big city, my current life. And moving to small town America? More than anything, I was terrified that I would be single for life.

I had always said I was “open to life,” open to God’s will — but taking this leap of faith in my career meant I was also surrendering my well laid out, albeit not-that-successful, plans for my dating life.

Yet, this new job seemed to be where I was called to make a difference. This school and its leadership seemed to have a unique focus that I needed to explore.

One question kept me pondering: Could following my heart on a job opportunity lead to doing God’s will and therefore lead to personal happiness?

Surely, God knew the longings of my heart. Surely, He would not be leading me astray.

With a sometimes forced smile and barely concealed tears, I said goodbye to my former students and former life and greeted my new colleagues and new students. I begged everyone I met to be my friend.

And in this moment of complete surrender, God was able to work. One of those early friends soon became someone to whom I felt a pull, much like a moth to light. Free of the distractions of my big-city former life and more intentional in my interactions, I marveled when that friendship turned into a romance, that romance into a relationship, and that relationship into an engagement.

In a city where I see someone I know every time I leave my house, I could no longer hide behind a veil of anonymity and had to be authentically myself at all times. Finding a rich faith community, I was challenged to grow closer to God. And in this city with far fewer “fish in the sea,” I found the most generous, faith-filled, loving man I could have ever hoped to find.

God’s call is not always so instantly gratifying, I am well aware. God’s timeline in this matter of the heart was light-years slower than the timeline I had outlined when I mapped out my life.

Yet, in my surrender to try to follow God’s will — which at the time seemed paradoxical, confusing, and counterintuitive — only then was I able to find the peace and love that I had tried so diligently to find on my own.

Grotto quote graphic about finding the right one that reads, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." —quote by William Hutchison Murray.
Grotto Update

Annie and Paul were married in the summer of 2018.

Creators:
Anne Ullrich
Published:
November 28, 2023
March 20, 2018
On a related note...
Meditating with Horses

Meditating with Horses

Grotto

Summer Road Trips You Can Do in a Weekend

Summer Road Trips You Can Do in a Weekend

Mary Claire Lagroue

A Practical Guide to Praying for Others

A Practical Guide to Praying for Others

Brandy Norton

Where Grit Comes From and Where It Can Take You

Where Grit Comes From and Where It Can Take You

Mariah Cressy

5 Things You Should Know About Invisible Disabilities

5 Things You Should Know About Invisible Disabilities

Shannon Evans

Why Internal Beats External Motivation Every Time

Why Internal Beats External Motivation Every Time

Mariah Cressy

Our Food Sources Can Help Us Build a Better World

Our Food Sources Can Help Us Build a Better World

Janelle Peregoy

How to Deal with Family Stress Over the Holidays

How to Deal with Family Stress Over the Holidays

Julia Hogan-Werner

How Do We Protect Our Peace?

How Do We Protect Our Peace?

Hannah Chartier

How to Reject Hustle Culture Based on Your MBTI

How to Reject Hustle Culture Based on Your MBTI

Claire Krakowiak

Meal Prep Like a Pro With These Recipes

Meal Prep Like a Pro With These Recipes

Lauren Lawson

What We Can All Do to End Domestic Violence

What We Can All Do to End Domestic Violence

Grotto

“The Lost Cardigan”

“The Lost Cardigan”

Judith Sornberger

At-Home Workouts Based on Your Fitness Personality

At-Home Workouts Based on Your Fitness Personality

Marye Colleen Larme

What the World Needs to Understand About Single People

What the World Needs to Understand About Single People

Maria Walley

Free Download: 30-Day Closet Revamp Challenge

Free Download: 30-Day Closet Revamp Challenge

Grotto

How Do You Start Budgeting?

How Do You Start Budgeting?

Grotto

The Summer Workout Plan for Your Spiritual Life

The Summer Workout Plan for Your Spiritual Life

Grotto Shares

3 Tips for Overcoming Toxic Productivity in Work Life

3 Tips for Overcoming Toxic Productivity in Work Life

LuElla D'Amico

Does the Six-Second Kiss Challenge Really Work?

Does the Six-Second Kiss Challenge Really Work?

Bethany Meola

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.