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Tuesday, February 22, 2022

LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING

 

It was a last-minute thing. 

The two scheduled speakers at my church had been exposed to COVID; they were being tested but may not be able to make it to church that Sunday. I received a call on Wednesday from a member of the Branch Presidency, asking me if I could give a talk I was supposed to have given back in December when I contracted COVID. I agreed and went to find the notes I had previously prepared.

But, as I read over the words I had written, I realized that the talk I had prepared for December was pretty much the same talk I had given three times before over the past two years. It seems my experiences with various conditions and illnesses had become my identifying feature to most of the members of our small branch; people often commented on how well I was able to deal with everything I was suffering through at any given time over the years.

They were so impressed apparently that they gave me the same subject to discuss each time I spoke - how the Lord Jesus helps us in times of need. It became a repeat service; I'd just go back to the past talk, tweak it a bit with some new information or different talks from Church elders, and - voila! - adversity and its solutions penned in an instant!

Yes, I had given the same basic talk too many times. It was becoming stale. How, I thought, can I make this talk sound personal and yet bring new life to the same old words?

It took me a couple of days and several heartfelt prayers to realize what should have been obvious. My previous talks had not been personal enough. I had used others' stories, others' talks, and others' experiences to explain what diversity is and how to learn and grow from the challenges adverse situations provide. I wasn't using the one source I knew more about - my own. How better to explain how I deal with adversity than to talk about the adversity I had personally experienced and the solutions I found for each experience? More importantly, I could show how each of my experiences had a specific purpose; there was a particular lesson I or someone else involved needed to learn or a strength I needed to gain.

So that's just what I did. My talk was based on one scripture.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I talked about several of the occurrences, illnesses, and tragedies I had endured over the last four years: my mother passing away; dialysis and a kidney transplant; the open wound that was supposed to take 5 months to heal, preventing me from returning to work; online teaching due to COVID-19; and retiring from teaching due to my compromised immune system. When the COVID variants began to appear, my doctors insisted I stop teaching in the classroom altogether and work only online. Since Parkland Adult Ed returned to live classes in the Fall of last year, with no online classes available, I had to retire from teaching there. Unfortunately, having never earned my teaching certificate (I have a Bachelor's in Education and a Master's in Education with an endorsement in Math Instruction), and even though I have been teaching both in private and public schools for more than 30 years, I don't qualify for any of the online teaching positions offered because they all require certification.

Then, I explained how each of these things was either a blessing, a lesson, or a chance to make a difference in someone else's life:

1. My son, who was to be my designated caregiver after my surgery, learned during our orientation at the hospital that a live donor would be better for the patient than one from a deceased person. He immediately volunteered. * I almost didn't take him with me to that meeting because he had worked all night and was really tired. If he hadn't been there, he would not have learned about live donation, and if I survived this long, I would still be on the waiting list for a kidney.

2. A blessing from the priesthood at my church helped to heal the open wound in two months instead of the 4-5 months predicted by the doctors, so I was able to get back to work on time.

3. When COVID restrictions, including all online classes, were put in place, I had two weeks to learn all the new apps and online sites I had never used before but would need to use with my students for the next year and a half. I am not tech-savvy, so I prayed HARD for those two weeks and was ready to go when class started meeting online.

4. Since I can't find a teaching job right now, I am considering this forced retirement as an opportunity to return to one of my great loves: writing. I published two children's books on Kindle several years ago; they were part of a series I had planned but never got back to. Now I can go back to working on that series, as well as writing my blog, working on my other short stories and posts, and trying my hand at poetry again. I can promote the importance of live kidney donation on my blog*. I hope to be writing for newspapers and magazines soon, maybe even my own column. My crocheting, quilting, and embroidery are waiting for me (a good source of income); and, of course, my music is singing my name. Heavenly Father has allowed me to build on my other talents and share them with the world.

And I still have my hand in education as I homeschool my granddaughter and youngest grandson. My life is so full, and I am so blessed. 

You see; everything happens for a reason, and the Lord provides better opportunities for us than we could ever imagine. We just need to be patient and trust on the Lord.

*A Gift of Life: Living Donors Save Lives

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