I relived my prom night today! Even though the strobe lights were replaced with pen lights, and the music came from an MP3 player, and the girl I was dancing with was not my girlfriend... it was nice. I'm still as uncoordinated as an epileptic monkey, though. It just goes to show that anything can happen to anybody, anytime.
I got 90% on my assessment! Only four out of eighteen passed. I would have wanted everyone to succeed, but c'est la vie. This was clearly a moment when God whispered, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit" (Zechariah 4:6). Amen. Thank you, God. I personally believe that I DON'T possess anything special - I just do the best at what I need to do. Just presenting myself as a "good worker." (2 Timothy 2:15)
I found a shortcut while I was walking home! I tried a different road, and God guided me home. You know, since the beginning, people who decided to follow God soon realize that the world is literally God's playground - and the followers are told to try the tallest slide. The Old Testament is filled with prophets who act as living billboards (one of my favourite example is the prophet Isaiah, who was commanded to walk naked for THREE YEARS as a prophecy, Isaiah 20:1-6). The New Testament has the Apostles, who went against the grain of the world - and got stoned, crucified upside down, exiled, etc. In modern times, oppression and suffering comes in all shapes and sizes - especially since Jesus set the standard by being tortured until he was unrecognizable (Isaiah 52:14), then put to death on the Cross (1 Peter 2:24).
The class tried a silly software that predicted the best career for each of us. I was recommended as a "Gardener." Interestingly enough, when Jesus came back from the dead, Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener (John 20:15).
I also tried to offer my condolences to Trainer Dyan. I paraphrase Jesus when He said that a seed must die so that many more will live (John 12:24). I'm sure her father would have wanted Dyan to live, more than he wished it for himself. I would like to believe that you honor your parent's death by living the lessons and values they teach us.
I think of that childhood song, "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" as I go along:
I have decided to follow Jesus (Repeat 3X)
No turning back, no turning back
The world behind me, the cross before me (Repeat 3X)
No turning back, no turning back
I have decided to follow Jesus (Repeat 3X)
No turning back, no turning back
Even though my high school prom night was the best AND worst night ever, and even though 90% was a good score but not quite what I was aiming for, and even though I could have been robbed while I took a strange path home, I say "No turning back, no turning back."
I'll be in the garden if you need me.
