WHEN GOD HAS OTHER PLANS - By Kurt Young (with an assist by Cheri Holdridge)

My life was a whirlwind from 2002 to 2003. A firm I had been a part of for about 9 years had come apart at the seams. We had a senior partner who had lost it all in the economic collapse of post September 11, 2001 and was refusing to finish a sale of the firm to a group of us who had worked for years to own it. She did this after draining our resources to keep her family employed during the crash. Add the addition of our son, Jamie, to the mix, and the almost loss of our health insurance thanks to that crash, and well, I thought I knew stress.
But in January 2003 I had joined our closest competitor, who welcomed me with open arms. This meant that all four of the board certified specialists in my area of law, workers’ compensation on the injured workers’ side, in Toledo would be under one roof. They had a reputation for excellence and were considered good to their employees. A great place for me to land and my colleagues were landing safely too elsewhere.
But 2003 did not calm down. In October 2003, after a series of events, all of which could have caused them, I was admitted to the hospital with not one but two blood clots my lungs (pulmonary emboli). Often, this is fatal; it had been for Cheri’s Dad. A series of doctor friends said to me the same thing “Kurt we usually figure this out in the autopsy, not in the hospital." Nine days in hospital and a month off work followed. But I rebounded and charged back into work. I got sued twice due to the collapse of the old firm, but we got through that relatively unscathed. Only to have my brother in law die unexpectedly. But again, God provided for us and our family.
But things were not going well with the new job because of all of that. I was not happy there. While they have similar hearts, they do things differently. I had thought about getting out of there, but I had a wife and two kids and a couple hundred clients who needed a little stability and I decided to put up with it. But in early 2004, God had other plans for me.
I was called into a meeting with the partners of the firm. “Kurt, we can’t keep you on the payroll. The money is not there” we are going to have to let you go. When I left my old firm, my senior partner, who was retiring anyway, fought to keep clients she was not going to help, and stripped 5/6th of my clients. I was given 30 days notice. I would get a few more paychecks, but then I was on my own. In 2010, I would be in very good company, but in 2004 things were not like that.
So What to do now? Try to get hired as a hearing officer (Judge)? That was six months off at best. Move and force my wife into a new job and kids into a new city? Try to get an interview with our next competitor? Actually had it but the competitor cancelled at the last minute (thank God, but not for the reason, the I-280 Bridge Collapse made them too busy). Then a chorus of voices started - start your own firm.
"You’ve got to be kidding me. I don’t have enough clients to make that viable," I thought.
You can do it Kurt.
"I have less than 30 days and no place to set up the office."
But you know the two realtors who handle most of the downtown office space.
"I don’t have time to set up the needed bank accounts."
Hey, Kurt, ask the guy walking down Erie Street next to you, who works for your personal bank.
"I can’t afford the office furniture I keep looking at."
You do know about the used office furniture place in Sylvania, right?
"The office I can afford needs repainted and some of the furniture needs assembled."
You’ve got a church family of handy people and a family with three professional painters (and you can do that yourself too).
"But I need a staff member who can start as a part time secretary but has the skills to be my right hand.
Hey, dummy, remember that great receptionist you were help groom into a paralegal and beyond at the old firm?
"I don’t have enough start up capital to get through the first 3-6 months."
Your Mother has some money.

No matter what my objection, roadblock, etc, God put something in my path to make it happen. So in 30 days, I opened up my own firm. Somehow, I was ready on Day One. And somehow things kept happening to keep me in business. And somehow I have managed to stay going, hire additional people and keep this viable at a time when the clients I represent were getting clobbered. I only get paid when they do, but they don’t get paid much and have lots of needs they can’t pay to address. We do it anyway. God and Cheri long ago convinced me this is my ministry. It pays better than most, but not better than other areas of law. But God has stationed me here for now.

Have you had many of these experiences where you are going along – and then all of a sudden WHAM! Everything changes. The world changes your plans. Or God? We can’t be sure which one. I can never be sure who causes the change. But I am sure of this: once the change occurs, God walks with us through the change. God helps get us through the turmoil, to the other side. God never abandons us.
Which is why, as a Father and husband I can certainly identify with Joseph, the Earthly father of Jesus. During worship at the Village this week, we read the story of Joseph dealing with this kind of "wham moment" as Cheri described it in her sermon. For those reading along at home, we used Matthew (my favorite Gospel) 1: 18-25 from the New Revised Standard Version. If you don’t have it at home, here it is:
8Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 24When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Thanks to all I have been through, I have easy time imaging being Joseph. But let me help you get there. You’re engaged to be married to Mary, who you’re very happy with as your wife to be. Wham, she’s pregnant and you two have never been together in that way. This “virgin” is pregnant. You’ve got options now that include leaving her and having her stoned. But, no, you’re a good guy. You would only do it quietly. Then you find out it’s not some other guy’s son, but God’s son. And you get an Angel visit, a scary prospect and good news does not usually follow. The Angel says: Trust God. So, what are you going to do, make a run for it? or stay with Mary, trust that this was not just a dream, and raise the Son of God?

As the scripture says “He took her as his wife." These are six little words that show courage and faithfulness beyond all measure. He trusted God. He stepped out on faith. Mary showed courage first, then Joseph did and because of that, we get Jesus. These two incredible people chose faith and trust in times when that was really hard. During those “WHAM” moments.

I have had to trust God many times in my life. During career decisions, illness, economic anxiety, etc. I could pursue an easier area of law, but God seems to want me where I am. Every time I have had a reason to doubt or fear, God has led me to way to stay or do what I have interpreted as God’s will. But let me assure you that has never been easy. It’s taken me years of prayer.

Joseph also said yes, when the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, stand with Mary.” You see, both Mary AND Joseph were chosen by God. And Joseph’s friends probably thought he was crazy to stay with this young woman who was pregnant. No one would believe she was a virgin. It was outrageous. In fact, it would have been legal for Joseph to have her stoned to death, not just to have quietly called off the engagement, which is what he had resolved to do.
BUT GOD STEPPED IN. GOD HAD OTHER PLANS. GOD SPOKE. AND JOSEPH LISTENED TO GOD. AND JOSEPH SAID YES TO GOD. JOSEPH WAS OBEDIENT. That’s the word Cheri used in her sermon. Obedience is not a word she uses very often. It’s sort of a harsh word. She likes nice words, soft words. She prefers to talk about making choices in life. When we talk about children we talk about helping them to make good choices rather than being so harsh and demanding that they be obedient.
But I’ve got to tell you, there is a little part of me that thinks it’s ok that Joseph and Mary were obedient to God in this situation. After all, this was a big deal. God was asking them to be the earthly parents of God’s own child. This is important. I think this calls for a complete giving over of oneself. Submission. Obedience.
“Yes God. I will do what you ask. No questions asked. You are the boss. You give me the directions, and I will follow.” You know, sometimes I think it would not hurt us to learn just a little bit of obedience and submission when comes to God Almighty Our Creator.
How about you? When life throws you a curve. . . when something just goes WHAM! – are you willing to trust God? Would you be ready to change your life plan in 30 days? Set up your own business and make a go of it? Add a child to your family that you were not planning to have? (You could be asked to take in a child for someone, you know.) Move, go to school, take some new responsibility; break an addiction; learn something new that you know you have to learn but you have been putting off? Deal with having cancer. WHAM! For good or bad. Like I said, I’m not saying they all come from an angel of God. Some of them just happen. BUT, I do believe that when we trust God, God will walk with us through whatever it is. GOD WILL HELP US FIND A WAY THROUGH THE CHAOS.
Looking for that kind of confidence in your faith. The road starts with a faith community that supports you. That will teach you to read the Bible, pray, and listen for God. Join us at the Village Church at the corner of Monroe & Central at 9:45 AM & 11:30 AM Sundays (new times start on January 2nd). We can help you start on this long path.