At the General Conference Session in 2004, my dad was looking for an Adventist school for my younger sister and me to go to before I reached my freshman year. This was really a major ordeal for him, because he didn't get an Adventist education and he really wanted my sister and me to have one. So we asked a reliable source for their opinion of the top ten boarding and day academies. The list included Shenandoah Adventist Academy, Mile High Adventist Academy, Battle Creek Academy and several other well-known academies in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.
When we returned home to Oklahoma after the General Conference Session, my dad still hadn't made up his mind where to go, so he decided he would just let God lead the way. That next week there was a job opening advertised in one of my dad's pharmacy journals for a pharmacist position in Denver, Colorado; this would allow us to go to Mile High Adventist Academy. My dad was really psyched up about this, because he has always wanted to live in Denver. But again, there was also an opening for a position in Battle Creek, Michigan. Again, my dad decided just to let the Lord lead.
So one week he flew out to Denver for an interview on Thursday, looked for houses on Friday and flew back on Friday evening. He then flew to Battle Creek on Sunday, looked for houses on Monday and flew back Monday evening. After looking at houses in Denver, he knew there was no way we could afford to live there. The cost of living was way too high. But after interviewing in Battle Creek, looking at houses, touring the academy and listening to the band, my dad knew that if he was offered the job in Battle Creek that is where we were moving.
Sure enough, later that month, my dad was offered the job. One of the many things my parents worried about was the finances for us to go to Battle Creek Academy, but the new job also came with a new salary—just enough to match my dad's old salary plus enough to cover the two tuition costs. This really eased the burden on my parents, because it was one less thing they had to worry about once they got here.
The move to Michigan really demonstrated God's love and caring power, because everything that could have gone wrong didn't. It's like God stepped in because He really wanted my sister and me to go to an Adventist academy. Just like in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose"(NKJV). This passage really came through with gusto during our move.
Benton Baker will be a junior at Battle Creek Academy during the 2008–2009 school year. He received a $100 scholarship, since his submission was selected for publication.
