God silently guides us along life’s path

This Thanksgiving season, I am thankful for God’s provision for our future. I have seen that through all my years of teaching. Let me explain.

At the beginning of my teaching career, I taught at Lincoln-Jackson Elementary School in Clovis. After our first child was born, I stayed home until all three children were in school. After that, I began at Yucca Junior High. But after seven years of junior high school, I quit.

I enjoyed the students but I was clever on the creative side and deficient on the disciplinary side. I realized I was not suitable for the junior high classroom calling.

After a few weeks at home, I realized that I really did need to work, so I applied to teach a part-time class at the college. I will never forget the first night I taught class. The moment I slipped into that classroom, met my students and began to teach, I knew I had found my calling.

Teaching adults was wonderful. I found out I didn’t have to call their mothers. There was not a principal to take them to and besides that, they never needed to go to the principal. They didn’t need a hall pass either.

Then after 15 years at Clovis Community College, I am at Wayland and teaching teachers. Who would have ever thought? I never would have planned that route for myself.

Robert Frost wrote about two roads that diverged in the woods and he took the one less traveled. Looking back, when he wrote this, he noted that taking that road had made all the difference in his life.

God called out Abraham and he went. The Bible said he went even though he did not know where he was going. Abraham had to leave his country, his familiar surroundings, his kinfolk and his father’s house. He had to give up so much to respond in faith to God’s calling for his life. (Genesis 12:1-4).

Abraham’s demonstration of faith is what made the great difference at the end of his life. If we knew exactly what was ahead in life and what was involved, our obedience would not be born of faith. And faith is the only way that we really get to know God and know the place of his power in our lives and the wonderful things that he can do.

I am certainly not putting myself along side Abraham. I am not even identifying with Frost. Yet I do know this: I have been apprehensive about my future at times because I did not know what was ahead. But now I look back and see how God has guided me down that path even when I did not know what was around the corner. Sometimes it was even dark down that path.

I look back now and know that God was holding my hand, leading me on, even in the uncertain times when my bad decisions caused time consuming, confusing detours along that path.

None of us can see into the future. Furthermore, life does not always work out as we planned. Yet, I am thankful that God led me even though I had no clear vision for the future. Faith knows that our times are in God’s hands. That is one big thing that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Judy Brandon is a Clovis resident. Contact her at:

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