Learning to Listen
08/10/2010 9:25 am OMF Thailand <th-itSPAMFILTER@omf.net>
At our Bible Study Eid, a new Christian, told me a story.
"One day about a month ago, I washed some cucumbers and cut them up for a meal. As I was going to throw out the water, I felt like God was saying to me, 'Don't throw out the water - you'll need to use it to wash the cucumbers again.' But I thought, 'That's silly. I’ve finished washing them. Why would I need to wash them again?', and I threw out the water. A couple of minutes later, I knocked the bowl of cucumbers onto the floor. Sure enough, I had to wash them again. I should have listened to God!
God did have another lesson to teach Eid – more significant than cucumbers! She told me that she was learning that God's plans are bigger than ours, and that we should trust Him.
She said, "When my daughter was in eighth grade, she had a group of five special friends in her class. When the new school year started, I was praying that God would work it so those friends would be in her classroom again, but when we saw the class list, my daughter broke down in tears. All five of her friends were in one classroom and she was in another! I was mad at God. 'Why didn't you answer my prayer? I wanted Pat to see Your love through You arranging to have her friends be in her classroom this year!'
"Now we are 4 months into the Thai school year. God is showing me why He allowed Pat to be in this classroom. The teachers call this classroom "The King’s Classroom" because it has the brightest kids in it. Pat was always first in her class, but this year she is 9th in her class. She is being really challenged for the first time, and she has real intellectual peers. She is enjoying the challenge, and making new friends. God had different purposes than me. He is trustworthy." (Jennifer Tibbetts, Chiangmai Dorm Parenting)