His Plan and My Spirit - February, 2014

I know I've written before about following God's leading in our schooling, but I'm guessing that since it is a lesson God keeps walking me through, then maybe another mom needs encouragement in this area, too.

This morning while brushing Kim's hair, she confided to me that some clothes she saw other girls wearing made her feel envious -- they had sequins on them.

I asked her what God says about how we dress. She didn't remember, so we pulled out our Bibles and read 1 Peter 3:3-4. Then I decided that making a little poster with the verses on it might be good reinforcement. I pulled out a piece of art paper, foam flower stickers, and markers. Then Kim said she wanted to write the verses, so I drew lines on the paper. I told her to pick four or five flowers and decorate around the edge. She took her time and picked out ten.

Oh, I didn't tell you, from the beginning we were running late in getting MY "school" day started, and by the time we started the poster, half our time for Bible was gone. We were supposed to be singing a hymn, learning our verse, reading Proverbs 2, reviewing our catechism, praying for Afghanistan, and reading about missionaries.

Instead, while Kim picked out and stuck flowers on the poster, I was asking God for a calm spirit. While I read each word to her, spelling some out, I was asking God to help me remember that this was HIS plan for our Bible time. As she picked a different color of marker for each sentence, I was reminding myself to be glad she wasn't grouching about making the poster. And as we put more stickers over her mistakes, I was reminding myself to keep a gentle spirit and loving attitude.

By the time our poster was finished, Bible time was used up and it was time for me to take care of my mom. But I had a victory. I had followed God's promptings with a good attitude, not trying to rush through His plan and get back to my plan. So, who learned more through making the poster, Kim or me? Time will tell. But if I learned something, then the next time God pushes my plans to the side for His plans, I will be able to follow His promptings with even less agitation in my spirit.

I think a lot of my victory in this situation has to do with prayer. While I do pray for myself, I also know that each month one of you is praying for me, so thank you. God is working through your prayers.