April 2024--Guymon, OK

Photo by Jenny Venturo

“If for some reason you find yourself in Guymon, Oklahoma, it’s a nice place.” That review said it all. To put it simply, we knew that the next campground would not be very, well, wild.

Some campgrounds are really out there. Some are surrounded by tall snowy mountains. Some are tucked into shady forests. At some campgrounds, animals are so comfortable living in or near the campsites that we may find a longhorn cow, raccoon, or sandhill crane waltzing about on our site.

Guymon is not like that. It’s a small town tucked into the panhandle of Oklahoma and surrounded by plain farmland. Yet in this plain campground God saw fit to work a long-awaited miracle.

As an older teenager and early college student, I have been searching for remote work for about two years. Not that there was no money coming in during that time. I was running (and still run) an online Etsy shop where I sell hand-tied flies for fly fishing. However, I knew that I would need more income than that, and so I began searching for work that I could do while we travel.

Not that I was idle. I believe that a person should never be doing nothing. Even in small periods of waiting, we should use the time God has given us to further His kingdom, maybe by reviewing Scripture, praying, or singing.

I wonder if we young adults miss a lot of eternal opportunities to serve God during the prime of our lives because our ambitions are directed toward a career, or a job, or college—toward what society expects from us. Not that those things are wrong, nor is it impossible to use those things for the furtherance of the Gospel. Yet all of us must constantly ask ourselves how we are building on the foundation of Jesus Christ—whether our work will shrivel away before the testing fire or endure the flame (I Corinthians 3:10-15).

So I worked hard to be the Gospel minister God expects all of us to be, to my family, to the campground, to those who visit this website, and to the people we meet on our adventures.

Still, college and life cost money, and it was a great struggle for all of us as I searched and searched for the right job. Finding a remote position with flexible hours for an entry-level college student is more difficult than most people realize. There were so many false starts, disappointments, and anxieties as to what I would do, how we would afford college and all the other expenses that come with a family of five growing children. Then there was the pressure of those who wondered why I had not yet come upon anything. You are eighteen—you ought to be working by now. You need money. You must make your way in life.

Eventually, I learned that I cannot worry about the future. I cannot worry about what other people think I should be doing. I can only do what God wants me to do now. I can pray for work and ask God to guide me now. I can share the Gospel now. I can do today (Matthew 6:34). I can trust that God’s timing is better, that His ways are perfect, and that He cares for His children. I learned that we must not rush God. I learned that worrying about jobs and college and God’s will for the rest of my life are worries that will waste my time and leave me looking back, wondering why I did not use that time to bring dying souls to Christ. I’m still learning that lesson now.

But, this week, in the simple town of Guymon, God brought an answer to prayer. It wasn’t spectacular. The company accepted my application. I took the onboarding course. Now I teach English as a second language to Europeans online. I can set my own hours. I may even have opportunities to talk (in small ways) to foreign people about Christ. So far, the situation has worked well. It may not work out perfectly every week. But I can trust that all things work out for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28-29). Whether I have much or little, "I know whom I have believed" (II Timothy 1:12), and I know that He is a redeemer who lives (Job 19:25).

Are you waiting on God? Maybe it will never work out. At least, not the way you thought. But God is faithful, and His will for you is better than you could have ever imagined. Maybe, though, He doesn’t want you to know it just yet. Maybe He wants to see if you will trust Him. Maybe He wants to see if you will be faithful in small things before He lets you see the big results that our proud but earnest hearts so often yearn to behold. Maybe the answer is just around the corner, or maybe it is two years away, in a small inconspicuous place, on one short week. In a place you never expected.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Used by permission.  All rights reserved.