unorthodoxy
having faith for the road less traveled
un·or·tho·dox
/ˌənˈôrTHəˌdäks/
adjective
contrary to what is usual, traditional, or accepted; not orthodox.
September 25th, 2021
“i do not have to do this conventionally.
when it comes to the Lord, my path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. traditional pathways to wealth aren’t a necessity and when the Lord promises to provide, i can take His Word that He will. this thing be as unorthodox as the Lord wills it.
i’m not all too sure what this upcoming season looks like but i am sure that the goodness of the Lord is written all over it.
“may all of my fears and all of my doubts become the sweetest invitation to know what You’re about.”
I typed this into my notes app, almost three years ago, and the principle remains with me as I’m still on this unorthodox path for my life. But living a life that required stretching in my faith isn’t one I was always after.
I am a woman who loves safety. In fact, one of the reasons I love academia so much is because it’s relatively predictable and known to be pretty stable.
That’s a rough generalization, and of course life ebbs and flows in the midst of academia, but the point I’m making is that is that stability is something I have always been after. Up until about 2022, I always had some form of a five to ten year plan for my life, and I loved to choose the most predictable and stable careers possible. From entering college as a pre-medical student, then pre-law, I did love what I was studying, but even more, I deeply enjoyed the predictability of it all.
Until I was confronted. Back in 2021, I noticed God dealing with me about what my life will look like and I began to understand that His will for my life might not look the way I thought it would, and that my life is certainly bigger than I am and in service to Someone infinitely higher than I am.
I learned that there is nothing wrong with becoming a doctor or a lawyer, but I started to receive heart checks from Him concerning the root of I was choosing these paths. It was revealed in me, by God that I wanted safety, prestige, and assured wealth.
I learned soon enough, that God has a different path for every person in the world and truly no one’s journey is the same as someone else’s. With that being said, it is critical to welcome taking the road less traveled, the road that you know only God Himself has walked on before you. That alone is surety enough that you will make. And thrive.
We admire the Fathers in the faith and people in today’s world that we honor as “pioneers in their field”. But how did they do that? Someone had to take the road less traveled, and God may be calling you to that.
It’s slightly humorous to me how frazzled I get when I pray, “Oh, Lord give me an unorthodox life, one that I wouldn’t believe!” and God does the unorthodox thing, the thing that I wouldn’t believe.
There was nothing orthodox about feeling called to leave University the semester before I graduated undergrad to go to ministry school over 1,000 miles from home, to THEN come back home to finish school. There was nothing orthodox about being the only undergraduate student in my Cornell School of Criticism and Theory program on a full-ride scholarship to study something that isn’t even in my field. There is nothing orthodox about studying health systems management and public health, to end up doing a complete 180 to study English at the graduate level.
But these are a few of the ways the Lord has answered my prayer to live this unorthodox life. He is giving me the things that I wouldn’t believe, and it’s just my job to have faith— without it, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).
So, be encouraged. Ask God for His will for your life, no matter how unorthodox it may look. He delights in guiding you with His eye (Psalm 32:8), and in placing your trust in Him and following Him anywhere, you will find His faithfulness and stunning plans for your life, all written in His book (Psalm 139:16).
With love,
Rebecca
Love your writing!!