Daily Wisdom for Women - Januray 22, 2023

 January 22, 2023 - God Sent   "Don't be upset, and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place.  It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives...God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many surviors.  So it was God who sent me here, not you!"  Genesis 45: 5,7, 8

The first paragraph spoke to me.  "Sometimes we find ourselves in hard places because of the manipulations or machinations of those who wish us ill."  Usually I can come up with an example of something that happened to me, but in this case, it took a while.  Finally I thought about the last Fall Semester I was at Ivy Tech.  I had been asked to teach a dual credit ENGL 111 course at the Rochester Instructional Site.  Classes were capped at 20 and I was assured that that cap would be enforced.  When I looked at the class list, I saw 42 names. That was double the normal class size.  I called the dean of our school and explained and asked one of two things.  One was that the class be deemed an overload and I be allowed to drop one of my other four classes to compensate for that.  The other was that since the class was double the size of a normal class load that I be paid for an overload and still keep my other four classes.  Either way I would be fine with.  Withing five minutes (really probably less than that) the dean called and said he had talked to the Academic Dean of our region (actually the man who was at the Lafayette campus because of the merger of two regions) and he said no to both options.  No dropping a class.  No overload pay.  I really think that my dean didn't even talk to the Academic Dean, considering the quick response, and that my dean was trying to exert his power over someone whom he deemed to be a threat to his goal of climbing the ladder to the top rung.

By the end of that first paragraph I knew that this applied to the situation I just shared.   "He'll make sure to use whatever happens to us for good."  I really enjoyed teaching that class. Because I planned to retire the following summer, this was a 'coming full circle' for me.  I had left the high school, teaching juniors and seniors, and was ending my teaching career at the college by teaching seniors.  I was able to experience their excitement about college applications and homecoming, see all of the get-ups they created for Spirit Days, and celebrate their sports victories or sympathize with their defeats.  It was a fun semester, despite the grading load for 42 students.  

God knew what he was doing.  H gave me a routine.  I met many people I never would have known had it not been for that experience in Rochester.  He did.  "He will get us out, around, or through it."  That was true, and it will remain true.

I know hard times will come.  Many have come since I taught those classes at Rochester.  Three of our parents died.  Cleaning out the house in Wooster was emotionally and physically draining.  Making the decision to move from the only house we had lived in all of our life together was hard.  Getting acclimated in a new community took time. Then after we moved, Gary had two serious health issues.  Plus COVID hit us.  So...'through no fault of your own you are in  a mess, remain firm in both faith and hope, remembering God has a plan and all will someday be well.'  Truth!

I am trusting myself to you, Lord, for you are my light and hope.  Amen.