God's Plans are Much Grander than Ours

I applied to study at Oxford this summer through a study abroad program called BestSemester. I have been accepted and I'm in the process of preparing to study in the 'city of dreaming spires' from June 12-July 12. I have the amazing opportunity to study The Christian Tradition in the British Isles and attend two seminars: Philosophy and the Christian Tradition and The Bible and the Environment. These courses will compliment my current studies at Wayland Baptist University. My excitement about this program is indescribable, and yet, God's plans are "Immeasurably more than we can hope or imagine." (Ephesians 3:20)
God's revelation of His vast plan began a couple weeks ago with a seemingly insignificant e-mail from an organization called GoNow. They sent a mass e-mail with dozens of mission programs for the summer and fall. I glanced at it and happened to see something about England, but I thought nothing of it. Then, just a few days ago, I received a similar e-mail with bold red letters saying "application deadline..." That is all I read of the e-mail, but I left it in my inbox, in case I ever actually wanted to read it.
Sometimes God can show us what He has for us through whispers and nudges, other times He has to spell it out and get our attention with a much louder voice. The latter occurred to me just a couple of days ago. It began with a conversation between my friend Kevin and I. We talked about our summer plans, and I mentioned the trip to Oxford. He congratulated me, and then mentioned a church program that he had heard about in England: "I talked with this guy about working as a pastor or something in England, it sounded pretty cool, but my parents didn't want me to take a semester off of school." I replied by telling him about some kind of mission trip to England that GoNow offered. It sounded like two different opportunities to serve in England.
So, urged by the talk with Kevin, I decided to look into the GoNow trip. I called their office, and found out that I still had a week to get in an application (I thought the deadline had passed). They also gave me a contact number for more information. I called the contact, Chuck, and he told me all about this great opportunity to serve as a Youth Worker in northern England. I was excited about the chance to stay in England for a longer than a month, so I began the application. Chuck called back, then by the end of the conversation, I put 2 and 2 together. I asked him if he knew a guy named Kevin from Wayland, and he quickly replied, "Ya, I know Kevin. I've talked to him about this program a couple times." The connection was made: the two opportunities were actually one in the same.
If that wasn't enough to get me on a plane right then and there, God gave another boost of encouragement when I talked with my parents. College students often fear that their parents will stifle their (sometimes careless) plans; yet, when I called them with the unfolding news, they wholeheartedly supported me (thanks mom and dad!!). God opened a door, made the door wider, put flashing lights up pointing to the door, then firmly ushered me through the door of this prospect.
So, the next couple days, I filled out applications and sent out reference requests (thanks to all of those who quickly responded), and began preparing to go to England, to study and to minister. While my own preparation has only started recently, God has been preparing me since the beginning for this God-sized chance of a lifetime.