Following the Leading of the Lord

By Marilyn Kettering Badger

Our parents taught us that learning to listen to the Lord’s leading was very important to knowing what He wanted of us.  Our father helped more than one family or person when he followed the Lord’s nudges.  Once he was driving down a road when it seemed he was being told to turn and so he did and then later he felt he needed to turn into a lane and he did. (Now none of these turns was getting him to the destination intended, but….. it seemed God was telling him to do this and who is mightier than God?)  Upon arriving at the end of the drive, he was met by a lady, obviously upset, who had been praying for someone to come help her.  She had no transportation, no phone and was praying for help to get one of her little ones to the hospital for an accident that had occurred involving burns.  Well, Daddy loaded them up and took them to the hospital and waited to return them home later.  Waiting and listening for the Lord’s guidance is essential in our walk with the Lord.

One day, while teaching, I had two students come in, very upset, telling me that their uncle had died in an accidental hunting accident.  So, even though it was the day of my annual observation by the principal for which all lesson plans and activities had to be turned in a week ahead of time, I ditched those plans for the required “one day lesson” on dealing with grief and the stages of dealing with grief.  I had found over the years that this was a very important lesson not only for the handling of loss of loved ones but especially for loss of pets, loss of family structure, loss of belongings, etc.  SO, I ditched my plans for the day and proceeded with the grief loss lesson, which usually ended up taking two, not one day. (I kept these materials on hand each year in a special folder to use as needed.)   Needless to say, my principal was not real happy about the change and said he would talk with me later about his evaluation of me.  In talking later yet that day, I explained my belief that sometimes we are led to follow the needs of the day to catch the teaching moment when it was most important to meet it.  (He returned later for the “real” lesson that had been planned.)  He struggled with that concept a bit until I explained that the topic was one of the goals for teaching sixth graders.  Those same kids came back two years later asking me to help them remember the “stages” of grief because of the loss of parents to a murder-suicide that occurred in that group.  They remembered the lesson because it came at a time that it was needed.  I believe that lesson was needed both times – when it first occurred and then later.  God knew – I didn’t – but I followed the “still small voice that some call conscience”. 

I pray that I can stay in tune with what God desires of me.