Passage: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to this purpose.” Romans 8:28

Well, I didn’t get the WorldCom position. It actually took about two weeks longer to find out than that one fateful night chronicled in the last thought I had, but I finally got “the letter”.

“We are pursuing other applicants…”

That didn’t make me feel very good, to be honest with you. I had been wanting to work for WorldCom for a while, and even though I heard that I was the first alternate, it didn’t really ease the disappointment.

But I got another offer. A company called Stonebridge Technologies was interested in me. I could work in Birmingham, commuting from my apartment here. I could save some of the money that I would earn over the summer that would have been spent on finding a place to live in Jackson, Mississippi, while keeping my apartment here too. Plus, I’d be doing really interesting, challenging work.

What else was there to say? I accepted the job this week.

What does this mean? With God sometimes you don’t get what you want, but you always get what you need, and you pretty much find out that what you needed ends up being better than what you wanted in the first place.

There have been many times that I wanted something and I didn’t get it. For example, I wanted to be a host at the BCM last year. I thought that it would be really neat to live at the center and get my rent free, etc. But now I look back at that and see that if I would have gotten my wish, I would have slowly gone mad. This year was hard enough with my own apartment and living space; getting all of the work done was difficult at times and downright near-impossible at others. Trying to do it while hosting at the center would have been insane.

Recently, I had my eyes checked. I needed a new pair of glasses because my old pair was out of fashion. Really out of fashion. I hadn’t had an eye exam in a couple of years, so I knew that I probably needed one. My glasses were about a prescription behind my contacts, so I figured that was a safe bet.

Let’s just say that the doctor was amazed that I had managed to drive there. Referring to my old lenses, he inquired, “You’re sure that you can see okay out of these?” I answered, “Sure.” I saw enough to know where I was going, I was thinking.

Lo and behold, when I put on these new glasses (stylin’ frames and all), the whole world opens up anew to me! Anyone who’s just had their prescriptions recently strengthened will testify to this. You can see the individual leaves on the trees again, you don’t have to wait until the last second to read signs when you drive, and on and on.

The obvious analogy in all of this is that my vision is only as good as the old pair of glasses. I think that I know where I’m going, and I think that I know what the best way is to get there. But God has the full perfect vision that I lack. He can see the whole picture, and it’s crystal clear to Him. He can see the details of my life that I miss. And the most important thing is that he knows the best path for me, even if it means not going the way that I, with my blurry vision, want to go. If I let Him, he’ll direct my paths, all the while improving my vision for myself, so that one day my will and His will shall be one.