This may sound cliche, but you never truly know what’s going on until you take a look at the “big picture”.
I’ve sort of alluded to this over the summer, but I taught my last class at the end of May. I was supposed to teach a class in June that I had to withdraw from, and a class I was hoping to teach this month never materialized. Other classes I tried to sign up for were already full. I felt like I was in a bind because my summer schedule was bare. I started to wonder if maybe God was drawing me away from teaching for some reason. It upset me, because I really love to teach, and I have greatly enjoyed the past year with Indiana Wesleyan. I just could not see what God was trying to show me.
Was I being punished? Was there something I was supposed to learn? What was I supposed to be doing with my time instead? Was teaching not my gift?
This week, I finally was able to schedule some classes for October, which made me feel a bit better. It wasn’t until going through the last couple of weeks with my wife and her courseload that I finally saw the “big picture”. She is in her final course in the Bachelor’s program, plus trying to finish electives and classes she missed while she was having our youngest daughter. She has to cram two on-site and two on-line courses into the next three months, plus raise two toddlers at home and try to get her homework in between nap times. Fortunately, I have been able to help a little bit by allowing her some peace and quiet watching the kids.
Suddenly, though, I realized what God’s plan was all along. By keeping that work away from me during the time that my wife needed me the most, He prevented me from being out of the house a night or two a week plus the extra night she is gone. He allowed me to be available to help out my wife instead of concerned about classes and grading and preparation. In other words, God knew what was coming along in the next 78 days, and He set aside my work in the meantime in order for His work to be accomplished.
