Wednesdays in the Word

On Monday night at... say about 1am (so I suppose that would be Tuesday morning) I realized that I had a 45 minute teaching lesson to give that next morning at 10:30am. I had somehow completely forgotten about it. It was not on my calendar and by the grace of God I remembered that I had to give this lesson. I suppose it is better to remember the night before rather than to not remember at all. I knew that it had to be an art lesson on chalk pastels, so I needed to gather all of the supplies and put together a fun-filled learning experience for 3rd graders. My professor requires a lot of us. My typed up lesson plan, meeting all of the requirements, was completed at 8 pages. This takes time. I also had to create a sample of the artwork that the students would be making and provide examples of art from various artists that would correspond with the lesson. I had to create a PowerPoint that would assist the students in learning the correct techniques of using chalk pastels. Now let me remind you that I am not really a night owl anymore. I used to be able to run off of only a few hours of sleep, but as I have gotten older, I have learned the importance of getting a full 8 hours of sleep. However that night, I knew that I would not be able to. To cut down the story, I ended up finally getting to bed at exactly 4 am and waking up at 8am to look professional, run some quick errands, and prepare the rest of my lesson.

Your attitude in situations like these makes all the difference. My life as I view it is very blessed. Things are working out for me in relationships, education, family, and more. And sometimes its easy to become prideful in the life you lead. I had been praying for the Lord to stretch my faith. I wanted to be sure that every moment of my day was fully reliant on Him, rather than on myself and my own efforts. I asked God to teach me to pray. Teach me to think. Teach me to know.

And then this moment came at 1am on Tuesday morning. Yet instead of either crawling in a corner and crying or saying "poor me poor me." I was rejoicing! Rejoicing in a trial because that trial really proved to me that I needed to lean on the Lord for his strength and endurance. That without Him, I could not have taught that lesson to the best of my ability. Thank the Lord for trials like this that come along. Because of that trial, my day was filled with excessive amounts of joy because every moment I was mindful of God and leaning on Him.

Your attitude is a choice. You can choose to be a downer when situations come along. OR. you can choose to walk in joy with the Lord. And let me encourage you today... the second choice is the way to go. God won't let you down. If God asks you to do something, He does not say "Do this. Ok now you're all on your own. Let's see how you do." No, instead the Lord asks you to do something and is right there beside you every step of the way. He's teaching you and growing you closer to Him through that trial in your life. So why do we weep when difficult situations come our way? The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."