Ah, but Crusty, I HAVE asked Him for something that NONE of us can find on our own. That is His presence in my heart, and in my life. If I hadn't asked, He wouldn't be there. (He won't come into a place He hasn't been invited to.)
And several years ago, when I asked him to TAKE OVER my life and run it, He brought me to my perfect home - and I had NO IDEA I was going to be moving. When I told my boss I was giving my notice so I could move 2,000 miles away, to a town where I didn't know a soul, I was just as surprised to hear that come out of my mouth as the boss was. All my friends thought I was crazy, and I kept telling them, "I'M not doing this - God is!" When I got here, I said to Him, "Lord, you have given me so much in this life, I hate to ask for anything else, but, could you show me my life's work?"
It was after that, that the guitar students started pouring in - so many that I didn't have time to work a regular job. So I quit my job and taught out of my home. It was a short time after that that I met a man who owned a building in town. He was about to lose his tenent, and the price was right, so I signed the lease and opened a music store. Once again, I had NO IDEA I was going to do that, and believe me, it SCARED me. Now, five and a half years later, in THIS economy, I have a waiting list for students, I have 50 or so great guitars hanging on my wall, I have jam sessions every Saturday, and I'M STILL PAYING THE BILLS.
Now, how could I have done it on my own? In the middle of a perfectly normal afternoon, suddenly the idea popped into my head and right out of my mouth, that I was moving two thousand miles away from everyone I knew, to a place where I didn't know one single person. And businesses are closing right and left, and let's face it, guitars are a luxury item, not a necessity. And yet, my business is doing so well I have to turn students away, even though I have others who teach here as well, and I am CONSTANTLY having to go guitar shopping.
God WANTED me here, doing what I am doing. Perhaps it's because I am supposed to influence "my kids" (students). Maybe it's because the jam group is supposed to do something for Him. Maybe it's because if I had stayed at my job or at my old home, something BAD would have happened. I really don't know.
What I DO know though, is that since I stopped plotting and planning my life, and just followed wherever He leads me, my life, and I hope the lives of those around me, have gotten so good sometimes the joy is overwhelming. I TRUST Him.
Now, I only hope that if He gives me something tough to do, that I will have the fortitude and the joyful willingness to comply. Every day I ask Him to let me do His will. If it is His will that I should lose a limb, or give up the music store and become a missionary or something, I'd like to think I will be just as willing as I was to move here and open the store. I owe Him everything, and I want to do everything I possibly can to make HIM happy.