God tells us to wait in many ways. The question, though, is whether or not we\u2019ll pick up on what He\u2019s trying to say.<\/p>\n
When you couldn\u2019t get your foot in the stirrup and there was nobody to give you a leg up, it might have been God\u2019s way of saying you weren\u2019t meant to go horseback riding.<\/p>\n
And maybe it was only after your credit card was rejected you realized you couldn\u2019t afford that sweater after all.<\/p>\n
The book you wanted at the library was unavailable so you chose a different book, one that made a difference in your parenting.<\/p>\n
Or your car broke down on your way to a hang-gliding lesson that might have been deadly due to an unexpected storm.<\/p>\n
Maybe it was simply an uneasy feeling as you were about to share a deep secret that prompted you to shut your mouth.<\/p>\n
God speaks to us, guides us, and protects us in so many ways. Sometimes we have no option but to change course. Other times, though, He gives us a choice. And this is where we need to cling to Him, to pray and seek His guidance. We need to listen, as I should have back in 1977.<\/p>\n
I had started down the aisle when the train of my gown got caught on a nail in the doorway of the chapel. I couldn\u2019t move towards my groom until the wedding director set me free. She wanted everything to go without a hitch as much as I wanted to finish what I had started.<\/p>\n
So, I got married.<\/p>\n
Within a few short years filled with millions of tears, I learned that my parents and my best friend never thought Jim was right for me; they knew the marriage was a mistake.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t think you would listen,\u201d was their response. God didn\u2019t choose to force my closest people to be His mouthpiece. He resorted to something far simpler: a nail. But that didn\u2019t stop me.<\/p>\n
The marriage ended in divorce but three years later, I married George. Our marriage has weathered the storms and lasted over thirty years, giving us beautiful children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m thankful that in spite of our tendency to not listen, in spite of our mistakes, God still accomplishes His purposes for us.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.\u201d Romans 8:28 NIV<\/p>\n
He has worked good in my life even though I have often failed to hear.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m happy to report I\u2019ve become a much better listener in my old age. Now, if I can just learn to be thankful for all those nails\u2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
God tells us to wait in many ways. The question, though, is whether or not we\u2019ll pick up on what He\u2019s trying to say. When you couldn\u2019t get your foot in the stirrup and there was nobody to give you a leg up, it might have been God\u2019s way of saying you weren\u2019t meant to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}