I received an application from a girl who heard about Casas at an Urbana conference. She seemed great, but she had never been on a trip.
I printed out a thank you but no thank you letter, and stuck it in the mailbag.
The next morning, while I was in the shower, I heard God say..."TAKE THAT LETTER OUT OF THE MAILBAG." What?! Why?! That didn't make any sense to me. She didn't meet one of the requirements, and we had plenty of applicants, so it's not like we needed her. And, I figured that the mail had already been taken to the post office. I couldn't shake this thought. It wasn't a suggestion from God, it was a command. Weird.
I got to work, and the letter was still in the bag. So, I took it out. And, subsequently ended up hiring her as a summer intern.
14 years later, I'm sitting on the couch, next to this former summer intern who should have never been hired. It's Katy. I can't imagine if I had never met her. I can't imagine not knowing and loving her husband Tony, and their children, Mia and Jaxson. I am so grateful that God knew that we would be forever friends. Katy isn't just a friend, she is the closest I've ever felt to having a sister.
I started thinking about this, because yesterday, she showed me her intern application folder. I think Casas was getting rid of some stuff, and she ended up with it. You can see on the front that I said no to her, and that I sent her a no letter. You can then see that I marked out the no and changed it to yes. Oh God, THANK YOU for knowing that my decision needed to be overridden. Thank you for not allowing me to screw up the plan that you already had in mind. Thank you for talking loud enough so that I could hear you.
One little act of obedience can change the whole trajectory of life. I love you, Katy, and life is way better with you in it, and unimaginable without you.
