A Fool for God

Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:
“He catches the wise in their own ruses,”
and again:
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”
1 Corinthians 3:18-20

The wisdom of the world…

A phrase I have wrestled with much in the last few weeks. While it should appear obvious, so often, the difference between the wisdom of the world vs. the wisdom of God can appear blurry. I’m not talking about morals, but about life decisions we have to make in the day to day. Decisions about things that aren’t inherently of a moral nature, but can be based on what God is calling us to and our discernment of that.

As I mentioned in my blog post, A Season of Surprises, I had been considering finding a job outside the home after being a stay at home mom for thirteen years. Last fall, it looked like I would be able to start a job that would allow me to work virtually this spring, so I held out and half-heartedly kept my eyes open for other opportunities during that period.

As the New Year came and went, we came up with a simple plan.

John would start his job and get situated there, then I would start my new job around April or May. Once we had the new income coming in, along with the respective pay stubs, we would finally be able to afford a decent home in our area and move out of my parents’ home. The next step would be to get pre-approved and start looking.

God had other plans.

It wasn’t long after, that I found out I was pregnant and got hit with severe morning sickness. Soon after that, the at home job position also fell through. I felt stuck. I was encouraged to continue looking for work from well-meaning family members, but it felt like walls kept rising up in front of me. I felt lost and unsure of what I should do.

That’s when John stepped in.

One of the beautiful things about marriage is that we don’t have to go it alone. John was convicted of the fact that I shouldn’t go back to work. He needed me home so that the other needs of our family could be met effectively, while he continued to work on our financial needs. While I was still unsure of the right thing to do, I was encouraged to trust my husband, by another family member, and what God was telling him was best for our family. So that is what I have been working on doing.

The story isn’t over.

God has yet to reveal to us the rest of His plan in this season. Yet we know He has a plan. Right now we wait until John’s first 90 days at his new job are up, then we plan on getting pre-approved for a home loan. After that, only God knows.

Some days it’s hard to not wonder if we acted foolishly.

….in both the world’s eyes AND God’s eyes. God calls us to be prudent. Is not becoming a two income family prudent given our circumstances? Yet, there is also much peace in this decision. God granted me a beautiful consolation around this question during Mass a few Sundays ago. I was thinking on this question, when all of a sudden, I felt an indescribable peace fill me. It was then that I knew in both my head and my heart that we made the right decision.

These decisions aren’t easy to make, but God always sees us through.

While we don’t have an answer on how God plans to provide for us, we hope that you find encouragement in our story if you find yourself struggling with similar decisions in your own journey. You may worry that your decision is foolish. Continue to pray for guidance and for God to show you which way to go. You may be in the middle of your own story without a clear answer, but God has His ways of showing us we’re on the right path. Trust Him with that. He always provides in His own way and time.