Dear friend,
Blow the trumpets! Throw the confetti! I’m finished as a student at The Company. Two years of my life with no regrets.
God’s done so much in these past two years, I can’t help but look back at the things I’ve learned.
Here are a few of those things (in case you find them helpful, too).
Lesson 1
There are times when it’s okay to quit and change focus. In January, I had to come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t going to finish the apprenticeship program and make it as a full-time author. However, I found that I really loved the editing process, and some of the other roles that go into producing a book that support authors.
And I already knew that I love helping people in ways that support the work they are already doing. So why not continue to learn those things instead?
And while it rankles a bit that I wasn’t able to finish the program, I’m so thankful for the things I learned through it, and that my mentor allowed me to stick around and continue to learn from him. As I said before: no regrets.
Lesson 2
Let people love you. I’ve gotten the opportunity to learn how much God loves me over the past two years. Part of the way he’s shown me love is through the love of other people.
I grew up with the idea that you weren’t supposed to ask for stuff. (Don’t ask me how I got that idea in my head, because I don’t know.) The result was that I had a hard time asking for help and accepting the love from the people in my life without feeling intensely guilty about it.
But the past two years, God’s put some amazing people in my life who have had the audacity to show me love and an incredible amount of generosity. From giving me an almost-new washer and dryer and making me soup when I’m sick, to helping me with living expenses and doing my dishes and encouraging me when I’m feeling down.
I still have to fight the guilty feelings sometimes, but when the people around you lavish you with God’s love, it’s hard to feel anything but grateful.
Lesson 3
When God calls you somewhere, he provides. I knew this in concept, but in the back of my mind was the thought that I had to be in really dire straits for that to happen. But it really is true. When God calls you to go someplace or to do something and you obey, he doesn’t just leave you to fend for yourself. He’s got everything planned out, and he provides in the most unexpected ways.
One of the ways he’s provided for me, I’ve already mentioned. Last autumn, when my housemate Lucy and I moved into our apartment, we were looking for a washer and dryer. My pastor, who had helped me move my things in, made an announcement at church the next Sunday and a couple weeks later, a couple who had only been going to our church a few weeks (whom I had never met, mind you) gave us an almost new set of washer and dryer.
In another instance, I’ve been working odd jobs on and off since I started the apprenticeship and I knew I had saved enough before I started to almost make it through the two years. Long story short, at the beginning of June I realized that I had two months to the end of school that I didn’t have enough money for living expenses.
Around the same time, I’d been talking with my grandpa, whom I haven’t been able to see for a several years, when he asked me point-blank if there was anything I needed. Funny you mention that… He ended up sending me the exact amount I needed to finish these last two months of school.
God’s timing is impeccable.
I’m excited to see what God has for me next.
Sincerely,
R. J. Catlin
P.S. Let me know in the comments what you’ve learned in the past year.
What a beautiful article and testimony of what God has done because of your “yes”. Also, you get points for using the word rankle!
I will take those bonus points! Thanks! XD
R.J.,
This was great to hear your story through the end of these incredible two years. It was a joy to meet you but even more so to hear and see your growth through the zoom meetings as to how you could help writers. Now you will make a living in such a way to be a wonderful blessing to those that seek your expertise. Praise God for how He works for our good in all things.
Thanks, Dave! Praise God, indeed!
R.J.,
Great thought-provoking piece. Having gone through the short term, distance learning version of the same program, I’d love to hear more about how you dealt with the fact that you weren’t going to be able to finish when you planned.
Personally, I had the opposite feeling — I did the distance option because circumstances required me to remain home in NC (I wasn’t in a position financially or physically to move to Ohio to take it on. It’s a big enough risk using my disability check to pay for everything I did with the program + my website and branding. All that said, Romans 8:28 definitely rings true.
Thanks, Erin!
I definitely had to keep my hands open with the expectations I had. I knew God had called me to the program, I just didn’t expect him to do the things he did with it. I’d love to continue the conversation. If you message me through my contact page and we can continue talking directly.