THE FIRST DAY OF 8TH GRADE

 

My first day of 8th grade was one of the hardest days of school.  It was the largest school I had ever been to and that first day I got so lost looking for my classes that at one point I stood in the middle of an empty hallway crying. After a few minutes one of the teachers found me and helped me find my class.

This past week I had the privilege of beginning the second half of my college career at a new university. This university is much bigger than the community college and I had a very similar reaction while finding a parking place and my new classes. Not quite so dramatic, but still that pit in your stomach that makes you want to panic. Uncertain of where you are going and what you are doing.

Last Friday I went to campus orientation. I parked on a side street and went semi-confidently to where I needed to be. I found the buildings just fine and even found my classes without mishap. I wanted to be sure I knew where I was going on my first day. However, when I confidently began my trek back to my car I realized I didn’t know where I was. I walked down one sidewalk only to turn around and walk back the way I’d just come and try a different path. But none of the paths I took looked like the way I should be going to get to my car. I was just about to give up when, once again, I found a teacher and after we looked at the campus map we figured out where I needed to go. I took off on the new path and sure enough, there was my car! Hallelujah!  

I found this verse a couple of years ago and it quickly became one of my favorites. Isaiah 30:21, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.”  I love it because it gives us the assurance that God doesn’t leave us to wander around, groping in the dark trying to find our own way. When we feel lost and afraid and don’t know where to turn, He is there to wrap His arm around you and point you in the right direction. He says, “Hey, why don’t you try going this way?” And when we listen to Him and follow the map He gives us, we find exactly where we need to be.

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  © Marcie Bridges, Heart Thoughts, 2013