I want to share my recent journey. The Spirit is truly in the middle of it all.
Joe‘s new pastoral appointment as Senior Pastor of St. Paul’s UMC Las Cruces begins at the end of June. While this is an exciting adventure, the next step was for me to find a hospice job.
After a few rejections and no full-time opportunities, I began to lose hope. And then God did what God does.
Joe went to a meeting at the Conference office. A friend, Barb, who also attended the meeting, was dressed in her police chaplain uniform. At the end of the meeting, Joe asked her if she had any chaplain contacts in Las Cruces. She texted a friend and discovered his company was looking for a part-time chaplain in Las Cruces. I immediately called a couple of friends who work as nurses for the company, and they put in a good word for me. Two days later, I received a call from the director and had a pleasant conversation (I didn’t know that was my interview). On Monday morning, I was offered a full-time position as a chaplain for High Desert Hospice in Las Cruces! I started on April 7th.
I immediately called Barb to tell her the news, and she said, “Cazandra, I never go in person to those meetings. But I felt the Holy Spirit pushing me to go that day.” Wow. Barb listened to what I call the “nudge of the Spirit.” I am so grateful she listened.
It gets better.
A retired pastor in the conference offered her home as a place for me to hang my hat temporarily, and a new congregation member offered her home toward the end of my stay before moving. I can go home on weekends to help prepare our house for moving on June 22nd. Two amazing women opening their homes to me is a gift that I will never be able to repay.
I’m not done.
As I drove into Las Cruces the night before my first day of work, I passed by the office to make sure I knew where to be the following day.
The office is no more than 20 steps from our new church.
My first day at High Desert was great. The people were passionate about patients and families and were very welcoming (and there is no micromanaging).
And here it is…the chaplain I work with (yes, I could be her mom) plays…the OBOE!
When we moved from Texas to New Mexico in 2006, we stepped out in faith in a way we had never dreamed possible. Joe received a full-time music position at FUMC Deming. Within two weeks, we packed up our home in Houston and went to Southern New Mexico. Church members put us up while the entire congregation worked to find us a place to live. I don’t suggest this method, but sometimes, it happens this way.
God was in the middle of everything.
My family is returning to Southern New Mexico almost twenty years later. Stepping out in faith and letting God take control has been tremendous. Have I let my faith waver? Absolutely. This job search and uncertainty have been stressful. I was even preparing to look for work in another field. But through this time, I have leaned into my word for 2025, Trust.
I could easily say, “Everything happens for a reason,” and rejoice in the wonderful ways God has shown up. I am grateful that God has been abundantly present in my situation. However, I don’t want people to think that when everything falls in place seemingly perfectly, it’s because God rewards us. What happens when things don’t go well? Does that mean I am less than or not strong enough in my faith? Is there a reason a person is sexually assaulted and abused? Is there a reason someone gets cancer?
Awful things happen, and sometimes for no reason. I know we like everything to have a reason and a purpose, but it doesn’t work that way. If something terrible happens, it doesn’t mean we are being punished or that we deserve the outcome. You can get on your knees and pray until your knees are raw, and sometimes, the answer you are looking for and praying for is not what you want.
The key is to remember that trust is crucial despite the outcome. God loves us when we are at our best and our worst. God loves us when prayers are answered the way we hope and when the news we receive is devastating.
Everything doesn’t “happen for a reason,” Beloved.
God is in the middle of it all: the good and the bad.
Today, I am thankful for:
- hospitality
- HTeaO (my new favorite)
- Hulu
- Homemade mango dragonfruit drinks
- Dottie, Bre, and Isaac
