It has been a year since my husband’s unexpected death and I think that the shock of it is starting to dissipate, in part due to the Bible study of JONAH, Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer.

The Bible book of Jonah and I have a history. Because of my husband’s work our family had moved from the Santa Cruz area of California to Eureka, California. I was anticipating filling my hours with what I had been doing, being the teaching leader of a lay bible study (BSF).

Before the move I had been told by the BSF Area Advisor that the Teaching Leader (TL) of the Eureka class needed to retire and that I was to take over her position. I understood that the present TL was to make the initial contact and take the lead in the transition.

When we “accidentally” * met in the bathroom of her church, she invited me into leadership as her assistant. After a few months in that position and nothing being said about retirement, I was feeling uncomfortable. At that point in my life, it was hard for me to stifle what I was trained to do. So I determined to leave BSF at the close of the study year.

After a small group fellowship in my home, which the TL attended, she and I were standing in front of the dining room window admiring the back yard. Perfect setting! I told her of my planned departure. She was aghast! “No you can’t do that. I was going to ask you to give the weekly lecture so that I could take care of some personal matters and, after a few weeks, retire.“

I gave her my reasons for leaving and we discussed them. I did agree to do the lecture but did not change my mind about leaving. She ended the conversation with, “Will you at least pray about it?” ** As I saw her to the door, she said, “By the way, you’ll be teaching on the Book of Jonah.”

But a few days before the lecture the TL said, “My appointment was canceled so I’ll give the lecture.” As I sat under her teaching, I was still asking God, “Why did you have me prepare and then have her give the lecture? “ When she came to Jonah 3:1, she read, ”Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time… (she added) and it had not changed.”

What flashed through my mind were the verses that God impressed on me when I was first called into the ministry of teaching the Bible, John 21:15-17. After the lecture on Jonah I told the TL that I would be happy to feed His sheep. Twenty-five years later, God is again using Jonah to guide me.

Now, my daughter and her boys are living with me and she is hosting the weekly Bible study with the book that I mentioned at the beginning of this post. As I picked up the extra books left from the first meeting, I was drawn to a portion of the title, “… an interrupted life”. That certainly could describe mine, so I decided to do the study on my own.

I was on the last chapter when the fires came to where I now live, Sonoma County, California. I learned that a friend had lost everything in the fire, so after she shared her experience with me, I asked if she wanted to do the Jonah study. Her life certainly had been interrupted. She had done the study before but, as she said, “I’m in a different place now.”

Where do we, my friend and I, go or what do we do from here? It’s a mystery … a great adventure, so I’m told. But we are sure that God will be using Jonah to guide us. We’ll keep you posted.

*Many times, what may seem like an accident is, in reality, God at work.

**That request, if followed through on, will be the death of any self-determination.