10X Bolder with Nora McIntosh
A bolder you awaits. Host Nora McIntosh dives into the moments of fear and uncertainty that define our lives—and how to break free from them. Featuring raw, relatable stories of what it means to live ten times bolder.
10X Bolder with Nora McIntosh
The God Process
Waiting is tough, but there's a difference between conventional wisdom and what I call "the God process" when facing life's uncertain periods. In this episode, I share a personal story about how I ended up in my dream cottage—not by striving or settling, but by taking imperfect action and partnering with God, even when nothing on the horizon made sense. I talk about how God's timing, not mine, led to a result that was more beautiful and tailor-made than anything I could’ve reverse engineered. Whether you're waiting for a job, a relationship, or clarity on your next step, I hope this encourages you to wait with purpose, delight in the small things, and trust that the God result is always worth the God process.
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Hi, this is the 10xBolder podcast. I'm your host, nora, so I was thinking about what to talk about today, and one thing that has repeatedly come up is waiting. I have talked to several friends who are all in various stages of waiting in different parts of their lives. Stages of waiting in different parts of their lives whether it's someone in a relationship waiting to get engaged, whether it's someone who is entering a trial separation, waiting for the next step of that process, or whether it's someone who recently got laid off and is waiting for the next opportunity to open up. And I can really relate to that because I myself am in a waiting stage. Candidly, I'm single, I'm in my dating era and ultimately waiting to see who it is that wipes me up, and so waiting is tough. It's not easy to have so much uncertainty around such big aspects of life, and I really resonate with that. But one thing that has been super encouraging to me is just reflecting on past times in my life when I was waiting, and so I wanted to share some of that with you all, in case any of you are also in a waiting period, facing uncertainty and sometimes getting a little bit discouraged. Facing uncertainty and sometimes getting a little bit discouraged. You're not alone. So I really believe that when we are waiting and believing for something, there is a God process available to us and also a conventional process available to us. But if you want the God result, you have to go through the God process. So what is the God process? You might ask? Great question. I thought you would never ask and I will tell you so. A God process is a way of partnering with God to take imperfect action towards what you're believing for, even if those steps don't necessarily make sense. And so I want to talk about an example in my own life, and then I'll talk about an example in the Bible.
Speaker 1:But for my example, I was living with my parents after a career change and COVID, and I knew that it was time for me to get out there and find my own place to live. But as soon as I got on Craigslist, it just seemed like there was nothing on the horizon. It seemed like everything was either ugly or too expensive, or in a weird neighborhood, or had a weird layout, or even if it looked good on paper, I would go and see it, and then there would just be something off about it, or things would just become not available because there was such high demand and so much competition. And to make it even harder, I got a lot of conventional wisdom from people who meant well, but they would say things like essentially, nora, you should just take what you can get. And, nora, someone even said to me Nora, you are the kind of person that could make any place a home. Just by the nature of who you are, you can transform the atmosphere of anywhere you live, even if it's not perfect, and I appreciate that sentiment.
Speaker 1:But the thing was prior to living with my parents, I had been in some amazing living situations with roommates. I had been in San Francisco, right next to Golden Gate Park, and then I had been in this beautiful house down in Burlingame, right next to downtown Burlingame Ave. I paid a very reasonable price and I was able to walk to downtown Burlingame right from my house and it was just this beautiful place with two dining rooms no one dining room and a huge dining table, two living rooms, my own bathroom. It was just amazing, and so having those experiences under my belt really raised my faith that anywhere that I moved next would be somewhere that I loved just as much, if not more, than where I had been previously, because I believe that God only operates in upgrades fitting the bill. And there was even one place that came on that seemed perfect on paper. It was in Piedmont, in this really cute neighborhood, and then it had a balcony overlooking a rose garden and a parking space in a garage, and it was a decent price and the landlord really liked me. He actually wanted to give me the listing and I felt a lot of pressure because he wanted to get an answer from me whether I would sign the lease so that he could know whether to give it to someone else who wanted it. And people close to me were really encouraging me to take it, because they thought that I couldn't get anything better and that this was the best available. But the only thing I could say to that was I don't know, I just don't feel right about this, I don't feel peace, even though I didn't have anything else on the horizon, and so I had people close to me saying I don't understand what you're looking for, you're not going to find anything better. I think you should just take this. But because I had such a strong conviction that this was not right for me, because I valued, I had learned to value my own intuition, I decided to just let that listing go, and so I felt pretty discouraged because I really didn't see anything on the horizon.
Speaker 1:But I decided that I wanted to stay grateful. And so when I was At my parents' place, I would journal in my bedroom and I would just list out all the things I was thankful for, and I would start simple with the coffee I was drinking and the fluffy bed I was sitting in. And then right outside my window there was this beautiful oak tree that had green moss growing on it and it had all these limbs sticking out at kind of crazy angles. It was huge and it was just so limbs sticking out at kind of crazy angles. It was huge and it was just so peaceful to look at. And so I would always make sure to thank God for that beautiful oak tree outside my window, because I knew that not everyone has a beautiful tree outside their window and I was really thankful for it. It brought me so much joy and delight me so much joy and delight.
Speaker 1:Fast forward, a couple months later I still didn't have anything tangible to show for my efforts in the living situation and I decided that I wanted to take imperfect action and start to rent out short-term rentals with Airbnb and VRBO, because I decided that I wanted to practice living on my own because that's what I was aiming to do and I wanted to test out different neighborhoods and really get a good sense of what I liked and what I didn't like for my ultimate living situation. So I tested out a few different neighborhoods and right away I realized that there was one part of Walnut Creek that I really loved and I was staying in this listing. That was so cute. It was pretty small but it was a great layout and it was the perfect amount of space for me and it was really close to downtown Walnut Creek and it had a garden outside and I was able to walk right to downtown and it was just lovely. And I remember thinking that the one thing I would change about it is I would love to be just as close to downtown but up a little bit more in nature, because this did feel very close and I wish that I could live there. I wish that it wasn't in Airbnb, I wish that it was actually available to rent.
Speaker 1:I liked that place so much that I actually came back and rented it a second time, and while I was there, my mom found a listing for somewhere on Craigslist that was actually right up the street from where I was staying. It was in a place it was in a part of Walnut Creek that I didn't even know existed, but I saw that it was very close by, so I was able to very quickly drive up there and see it. And as soon as I saw this place I just knew that it was really special. It was a little cottage on the landlord's property and as soon as I walked in I saw that the layout was very similar to my Airbnb. It was small, but it was the perfect amount of space for me and it was full of windows and natural lighting. And when I walked into the bedroom I saw a skylight with a beautiful tree outside the window not just any tree, but a fruit tree. And then I looked out the bedroom window and I saw not only a fruit tree but a rose garden, a flower garden and a vegetable bed. And the best part of all was that I didn't have to maintain any of this because the landlords who lived on the property in their own house. They did all the gardening and I had my own entrance, but they were the ones that they were still on the property and they're this amazing retired couple that are so cool and they travel and then they garden and they're just the best.
Speaker 1:So I was able to see this listing right when it came on and because of this process that I had gone through of testing out different places and learning what I liked, I was positioned to be there right when it became available and I knew, because I had gone through this process of testing out and learning what I liked, I knew what to say yes to right away, as soon as I saw it and came up, because I knew and I had the clarity and the peace that this was for me and this listing had a lot of interest in it. But the landlords really liked me and because I was so early in the like right after they listed it, and because I had favor with them, they picked me and so there was really an element of timing involved with all of this, and's timing was really has really stood out to me and how everything worked out, because I was positioned to come see this place right. I was five minutes away because I was standing staying in this Airbnb and the timing of God is so perfect where I could never have orchestrated this better myself or reverse engineered it, and so it was really a God process that I went through. That didn't make any sense and didn't follow conventional wisdom of how this all played out. But now I got the listing, I got the cottage, I'm staying here and I believe that this is perfect for me. I feel so much peace when I come here and I really believe that this is the last place I'm going to live while I'm single, and it's been so wonderful to learn so much about myself while I'm staying here. It's been such a gift and I know that this time isn't forever, and so I'm just really enjoying it now.
Speaker 1:But to go back to the timing of God, I mean I was positioned to come and see it right when it became available, and also the other thing is that while I was searching and getting discouraged, this cottage existed the whole time. It's just that someone else was living here and then she moved out and then the landlords had to fix it up and then they had to list it, and that all took time. But the thing was I was in a process of learning what I liked, so that, I think, is my favorite living situation of all, even more than the epic situation in downtown burley, game and the, and the apartment with the amazing roommates in right next to golden gate park, and I know that if God would do this in my living situation, how much more would he do that in my love story? The answer is he's not going to write an epic living situation story for me and then give me a mediocre love story. No, like I'm not going to live in this place forever, but I'm going to have my husband forever, I hope, and so I know that this is just a taste of what's to come, and so here's what I want to say to you.
Speaker 1:If you are waiting for something right now that is feeling really hard and uncertain and you are not sure how it's going to turn out, I can almost guarantee you that you have had other situations in the past where you were waiting for something and you didn't know how it was going to turn out and things worked out, and I really want to encourage you to write those down and remember them. Remember how uncertain you were, remember the details of that situation and then remind yourself of how it worked out. I'm willing to bet that a lot of you are in jobs right now that were a huge answer to prayer at one time and when you got them you were so excited and you thought of all these reasons why they were the right thing for you at that time and they were so much better than you could have imagined.
Speaker 1:Or maybe the person you married, or maybe or whatever it is, and I know it can be kind of hard to get in that mindset, especially when you're feeling discouraged about whatever you're currently waiting for. But I want to encourage you. It actually helps build faith to remember what God has done in the past and to know that this is evidence of the fact that he will do it again. I really believe that the God process is something that is available to all of us and you know, going to the Bible, king David very much went through a God process and got a God result. You think about it.
Speaker 1:At the party at Jesse's house, um, at the dinner when Samuel was coming over, david wasn't even invited to that dinner. He was out in the fields tending the sheep, being a shepherd, and his brothers were the ones who are qualified in Samuel's eyes to be king. They looked the part, they acted the part, they were invited to the dinner. They were there, and meanwhile david is small and he's out in the field, um, but david was the one who was qualified in god's eyes, even though the brothers were qualified in man's eyes, and David was the one who was anointed. And then, when it came time to fight Goliath, again David was the one who was out bringing food, bringing lunch to his brothers. He wasn't part of the fighting. He wasn't a trained warrior. His brothers were the ones who were trained as warriors. They were the ones who were deemed qualified to fight, and people were laughing at David when he came and he wanted to fight Goliath. But again, david was qualified in God's eyes, and so he was the one that slayed the giant, and even though he didn't have the worldly qualifications leading up to that point, as soon as he slayed Goliath God's way, he became qualified, not just in God's eyes, but in man's eyes too, because he went through the God process and got the God result. He slayed Goliath and then he was qualified. Everyone took notice of him, and so it was unconventional the way he went about things. For sure, he didn't wear armor, he picked up a sling and he's facing this huge giant, but he got the job done because he followed the God process.
Speaker 1:And now look what happened. I mean, we're talking about King David. We're not talking about King, whatever his name. Was the one of the brothers, I think like Eliab or something, and so if you're feeling skeptical, I just want to say that this is definitely like. There's definitely precedent for this and I believe that you know.
Speaker 1:Take evidence, even if you have a hard time seeking it in your own life. Take evidence from the word, take evidence from my testimony that there is a God process available to you for a God result, and the God result is going to be better than anything that you could have reverse, engineered or orchestrated in your own strength, because God loves you and he wants the best for you, and I believe that he has a process for you to really bring you closer to him and ultimately to glorify him, because why would he bring you through a process just to give you a mediocre sort of lame, boring result? He's not, and I can tell you that I feel like a disney princess making this recording from my little cottage where there are birds chirping and butterflies and flowers. I went through the God process and got the God result in this area of my life. I'm believing for it in other parts of my life and I'm believing with you for whatever you are believing for too. So, in conclusion, I just hope you know that there is so much available for you when you open your heart to what the God process can look like for you and this kind of is going back to option unicorn, of just dreaming with God of what that could look like, and I'm pretty sure you're not going to have a formula that emerges right away of you have to do. If you do X, y and Z, this will ultimately be the end result.
Speaker 1:For me, most of the time it looks like a next step and then a next step and then a path opens up, just taking multiple steps. This podcast is a step for me and I'm still waiting to see what unfolds from that. But I can tell you that when I am listening to God and taking those steps that seem unconventional and maybe even get some pushback from people around me, those steps are the ways that I have felt really close to God and on an adventure where the uncertainty of what was going to happen next was actually part of the excitement. It's kind of exhilarating to start down a path where you don't know what's going to happen but you're taking steps that feel in alignment with what you sense is the next right thing. So again, if any of this is resonating with you and you yourself are in a waiting period right now, I want to encourage you that God's got really good timing and he's got a God process available for you. I want to encourage you to take inventory of testimonies of times when a previous waiting period turned out really well for yourself, in the Bible, for people that you know, for people you don't know like, listen to testimonies and just really believe that if God can do that for other people, if God has done that for you in the past, that he will do it again.
Speaker 1:I want to encourage you to be grateful and to take inventory of small things that you are grateful for, small things and big things. Just take, but start small, because I think those things, the small things, are actually arrows pointing to what brings you delight, just like me thanking God for a tree. Look, look what I have outside my window right now I have a tree. So I think, take inventory of delight, because I believe that is an indicator of how you're going to recognize a present from God in the future, because he wants to delight yourself too. It says delight yourself in the Lord. He will give you the desires of your heart. Well, he wants to delight you too. So so it helps to take inventory of delight. Take a do a delight journal, just where you just document all the little things that give you delight, and I promise you that that is going to make you a lot happier than that's just going to make you really happy.
Speaker 1:So, anyways, that's everything I have for you today, but I hope that this has been encouraging, especially for those of you who are currently in a waiting period.
Speaker 1:And if that's you, I just want to say that I know it's not easy, but you are far from alone and you're in very good company, and I believe that there is a God process available for you, and I also believe that there's a God result coming sooner than you think even. Believe that there's a God result coming sooner than you think even, and when it arrives, I really hope that you'll tell me the story, because the stories coming in have just been so fun and I love hearing them. I also would really appreciate it if you haven't already if you would subscribe, rate and review the podcast and consider sharing it on social media if you like it. I love to hear your feedback and your testimonies and it just really means the world to me. So I want to thank you again for all the love that's been happening since 10xBoulder launched. I hope that you enjoyed and I hope you have a great day. I will talk to you next time.
Speaker 2:Here we go. 10 times bolder. 10 times bolder every day. Fear can't hold us straight away. Rise above. We're feeling strong. This is our fearless anthem song. 10 times bolder every day. Fear can't hold us straight away. Rise above. We're feeling strong. This is our fearless anthem song.