Hello! My name is Jennifer Lynn Cary but my friends call me “Jenny.” Since you are going to get to know a lot of the more personal aspects of my life this week, let’s be friends, K?

Before I get started I want to thank Allison for this opportunity. I can still remember when I first met her. I’d attended the God Allows U-Turns banquet with my friend, Esther Bailey, during the CBA convention in Orlando. My number was drawn for a door prize, one of Allison’s GAUT books for kids, and I hung around after in hopes of getting it signed. Allison explained she had to do some PR but if I could wait a bit, she’d be glad to sit and talk awhile. For someone hoping for an autograph, that was right up there with dark chocolate (okay, my name is Jenny and I’m a chocoholic—non-recovering). When we finally got to sit and chat, I mentioned I had written a piece for GAUT. I thought I had submitted it but then maybe I’d only planned on doing it and forgot to follow through. (Wouldn’t be the first time).

Allison started to tell me to send it again but stopped and asked what the story was about. I gave her a quick synopsis and she put her hand on my shoulder. “I remember that story. I put a star on it.” She looked across the table to another of the GAUT authors. “You know what that means.” The other author nodded.

I looked back and forth between the women. “So, what does it mean?”

“It means it made me cry.”

My stomach knotted. “Is that a good thing?”

“Oh, yes, that’s a very good thing.”

More than a year passed though before we found the right book for that piece—“A Legacy of Giving” ended up in God Answers Moms’ Prayers. What I hope to share with you this week, among a few other things, is the story behind that story.

I’ve been thinking about the concept of God Allows U-Turns for sometime, especially since I learned I would be blogging to you all this week. When I think about the idea of a u-turn, it reminds of how the idea of repenting was explained to me. When a farmer is plowing, he makes his cut into the earth deep and straight. Once he reaches the end of the line, he moves the plow into a 180-degree turn and then makes a parallel line back in the direction from where he came. I understand that type of turning is where we get the root word for repent. But how many people in today’s society relate to the idea of plowing? (Besides my farm boy Ivy League husband, that is.) Driving terms are far more familiar.

So then I got to wondering if God allowing u-turns is only for the idea of repenting. Don’t know if you will agree with me or not, but I think it encompasses much more. In fact, sometimes, I think God orchestrates the u-turn. You can let me know if you agree after you read my posts.

The story behind my GAUT piece really began the summer of 1982. We had new neighbors who just happened to be new believers. They’d recently had a baby boy and we had welcomed a new daughter to our family so both of us moms were looking to lose a few post-baby pounds. Char, my neighbor, suggested we have a workout and Bible study three times a week. The workout sounded fine and the Bible study okay. I had grown up in the church and taken catechism classes from the time I was in third grade. I figured I could hold my own with a newbie. Funny thing, though Char didn’t know as many facts as I did about the Bible, she sure had a grasp on the relationship side that was new to me. It didn’t take long before I became the pupil and Char the teacher.

At the end of the summer, our family took a long awaited two-week vacation to visit family on the other side of the continent. The morning after we returned, my husband went into work at seven and was home by eight with no job. The company was downsizing. I dug deeper into my Bible.

My husband got another job with less pay and we plowed on. Then, in February of 1983, I was let go from my job (more downsizing from same company my husband had worked for previously). A month later I learned I was pregnant. Six months later my husband was out of a job again.

A particular moment in that day is etched in my memory. I sat on the edge of the bed wondering “Now what?” It was then I heard the words. “So, will you trust Me?” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and made my choice. I even spoke it aloud. “Yes.”

If I’d had any idea what I was signing on for, I doubt I would have sounded so sure. But God knew how this u-turn business would transpire.

And I’ll give you all an idea of what happened tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel. Or is it same GAUT time, same GAUT channel? Until then. . .

Abundant blessings,
Jenny