Something Unexpected
- Capital Fellows
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
By Claire Templeton
On August 23rd, I packed up my car in North Carolina and made the drive up to DC. Not only was my car incredibly full, but my head was also full of expectations. I grew restless over what lay ahead, praying to God that whatever it was, it would be good. I had a long list of expectations, most of which were concerned with how I would adapt to this new stage of life—“would people understand me as well as my college friends?” “Would I be able to acclimate to the fast-paced DC environment?” “Would I feel connected to these new people?”—were among the questions I was asking myself.
As I drove up the gravel road at Caboose Farm (the site of the Capital Fellows Kickoff Retreat), what I experienced was something unexpected: I was embraced, loved, seen, and understood. I sat across from these people, sharing our stories, and receiving the love of Christ through their kindness. It’s almost as if what God gave me not only didn’t align with my expectations, but also went beyond them. I learned that God is a God who sees and holds everything, and, like Pastor Bill Fullilove said, a God who knows what I need better than I could ever know.
This theme of “unexpectedness,” I find, encapsulates many of my reflections. I think back on my college years, and I can’t help but think “it is good,” echoing the Lord’s sentiment toward His creation in Genesis 1. Furthermore, I can already say that my Capital Fellows experience has been good, and I am able to delight in the unexpected ways He has provided—from leadership, to the fellows, to my host family, to the Church, and to my job. I have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord through all these things and more. The psalmist states,
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing" (Psalm 34:8-10, ESV).
Upon pondering expectations, I can’t help but rejoice in the fact that the Lord hears them, holds them, and doesn’t always fulfill them in the ways I want them to be fulfilled.
In The Mystery of Providence, my favorite book I read during college, John Flavel summarizes this truth in these two excerpts:
“Sometimes great blessings are brought to us by very unlikely means, while the
means we expected are set aside…Providence is wiser than you, and you may be
confident it has suited all things better to your eternal good than you could do
had you been left to your own option.”
As I continue throughout Capital Fellows, I pray that I never forget to stand in awe at the Lord’s mysterious ways and that I remain diligent in praising the Lord for all He has done.
Claire Templeton is a member of the Capital Fellows class of 2025-26. She is from Wake Forest, NC, and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This year, she is working for Atlas Free.
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About Capital Fellows. Capital Fellows is an advanced leadership and discipleship program for recent college graduates. Through graduate courses, a paid internship, one-on-one mentoring, and many leadership and community service opportunities, fellows develop and apply their gifts in real-world situations while learning to integrate a Christian worldview into all areas of life. Capital Fellows is a unique opportunity to live and work in the Washington DC area and to be an active member of a supportive community that seeks to serve the city with the love of Christ. It is also a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in the workplace while deeply exploring God’s design for us as workers and contributors to human flourishing.
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