The day I told my ex-boss about the Great Commission

Life's been crazy with all the transition that is going on in and around the department where I work.  Because it looks as though we will be extremely short-staffed for the upcoming year, I've been offered the opportunity to stay and teach for one year.  There was some uncertainty there for awhile, but it looks like it's going to really happen.

Crazy.

Today, my ex-boss -- newly promoted to a higher position -- and I had lunch.  While part of the conversations turned to the whens and whats and how muchs of what I would be doing, my ex-boss Kim was very concerned about what would happen next and what my plans were beyond teaching in our department for a year.

The real answer is that I've basically chucked any (faulty) notion of a life plan that I used to have, and that I'm willing to do anything that the Lord wants me to do.  I feel like the Lord is calling me to the area of discipleship, but I'm not sure what that looks like vocationally and how that would play out.  And while I had prayed a lot in advance about this meeting, I wasn't quite sure how to say all of this in an honest yet understandable and credible way to my non-believing ex-boss.

To my surprise, I explained to her that I believe that God still speaks to people and that He was probably going to have me to something with discipleship.  I explained that I felt like He had given me a passion to help people learn about Jesus, and become followers of Him.  I explained that I was interested in helping Christian students learn how to become followers of Jesus and navigate the transition from Christian-in-college-with-so-much-time-and-friends-and-Jesus to all-by-myself-working-professionals-who-still-follow-Jesus.  I explained that the last thing Jesus said before He left earth is that we are supposed to help people learn to follow Jesus and become disciples of Him.  Yes, I basically explained the Great Commission during lunch to my non-believing ex-boss.

I couldn't believe it.  I sort of still can't.  Yet she seemed interested and engaged, and to receive it well.

One of my favorite verses in Acts (4:29) is when the believers pray, "Consider their threats, and enable your servants to speak with great boldness."  It's like I had my own 2014 Holy Spirit filled version of this transpire right in the middle of my favorite grilled cheese restaurant.

I expectantly believe that my conversation with Kim went exactly as it was supposed to.  I am believing that the Holy Spirit will use the words He gave me to at least plant a seed.  I want to be somewhere in the "I planted, Apollos watered" chain, and to be faithful to exactly what the Lord wanted me to say.  I am trusting that God will be the one to bring the increase.  After all, only He can do it, and He is well able. May He alone receive the glory.

And then, it got crazier.

Yesterday we got an e-mail at 4:30 PM from my boss' boss.

"Please come to this meeting at 8:30 AM tomorrow.  I am traveling, so I can't join you in person but I will dial in to meet with you you.  If you can't join us in person, please call in to our conference."

Urgent news, no hint what the meeting was about?  Cryptic.  Strange.  Flipping through the mental roladex of ideas about what the meeting could possibly be about, I came up empty.  No idea.

This morning I found out that effective immediately, my boss was no longer my boss.  She has been tapped to be an interim dean*.  Wow.  Alrighty then.  This boss -- the one who unofficially offered me the opportunity to stay on again next year, the one who has been so supportive and helpful during my career here -- may or may not be coming back to serve in her current capacity.

I have no idea where this leaves me for next year.  I have no idea what will happen from here.  I keep thinking that this year has been the craziest year ever and that there is no way that we can work with even more of a skeleton crew; there are no more curve balls that can possibly be thrown.

Wrong.  With less than a month remaining in the semester, the events in our department take another unexpected turn.  We had 17 faculty members last year.  Now we've lost a sixth (not to mention a seventh is out on maternity leave).

This. is. crazy.

Will I be extended another offer?  Who knows.  I keep reminding myself, "This does not catch the Lord by surprise.  He knew this, and will sustain me.  I can trust Him with my future.  He has a good plan for my life."  But seriously, this is cray cray.

*It is a promotion and I am happy for her.  She will be good at the job, and is well-deserving of the recognition.