MISSTEPS OR STEPS?

The footsteps of a man are established

by Yahweh, And He delights in his way.

When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because Yahweh is the One who sustains his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

One particular set of missteps illustrates how the Lord has always had ahold of my hand. As a freshman in high school I began two years of Latin. Definitely a misstep as my grade was on a continual slide. As I approached the state regents’ exam at the end of year two, my teacher told me I didn’t have a prayer of passing. (I studied hard and got an 86.) My last two years I took French, which was a piece of cake after Latin. But that led to another misstep as my freshman year in college, in overconfidence, I signed up for French II. That was a disaster as the first day of class neither the professor nor students spoke any English. I wasn’t that good. The French I classes were full so I had to skip that year. The next year I was the only sophomore in my French I class with all the freshmen.

But God had my hand through this sequence of missteps. At the end of French I the professor offered his classes the opportunity to experience an authentic French meal at a nearby restaurant. I attended. During dinner a young lady from another class, in a misstep, dropped a glass of water in her lap (though not spilling a drop). When I turned to see what the commotion was I saw her. And my heart went “boom”! Three years later we married.

Now I look back at those missteps and see that the Lord had my hand (and hers) all along. He was imperceptibly but surely establishing my steps. Take a few minutes to think back on how God used your missteps. If you get a chance, I’d like to hear about it.

Jeffrey Eno