My name is Nicole Cox and I am a new member of the International Ministries team.

I will be serving as Associate to Short-Term Missions. I am a current Seminary student and a Youth Director at a local church. I am looking forward to seeing how God grows my ministry while working with so many others.

In reflecting on my journey to IM, a sermon by Dr. Buchanan comes to mind. In this sermon he talks about a man who looks out over the ocean and sees a sunset. To the man the sunset is not anything extraordinary; the man labels the sunset a four, on a scale of one to ten. The man turns away from the ocean and sunset and looks towards his home. Then, the man’s wife walks down from their house and is in complete amazement. She tells her husband to turn around and look! The man does and to his surprise the sunset had enveloped the whole sky in a beautiful display of colors. While the man was looking in one direction, God was working in another and he was missing it.

At the end of last year, a friend of mine had told me that this Associate position was opening and I should apply. After we had talked, I looked at the description and thought, “wow that would be an amazing job!” Instead of praying about the position, talking with others, or even applying, I pushed it to the side. You see, I was content with the jobs I already had and did not wish to rearrange my working situation. Well, later that week I randomly mentioned it to a professor and she also encouraged me to apply. At this point, it was like the man’s wife coming down from the house saying “look!” So, I turned back around, rethought about how my life would look if I applied and received the job, and after much prayer, applied.

While I was looking in the opposite direction, being distracted, God was working behind me. He was preparing me for this new ministry. He was trying to tell me that it was time for a change. How often do we turn the other way and leave God working in the background? I know this is not the first time I have done this to Him. I believe as followers of Christ we must be willing to look in all directions. We never know where or when God will be working, to open a new door in our lives or show us something spectacular. When we receive that “look!” from someone, do not be afraid to turn and look. Because if you do, you might see a beautiful sky full of color! “Take a good look at God’s wonders, they’ll take your breath away.” Psalm 66:5

Take a look at this beautiful turtle statue. 

Does the little one on top see God working or do the two on the bottom see God working?