Gifts From God

    Psalm 38:4 says, "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

    There is a trick here though! In order for God to give the gifts we desire, we much desire gifts that God agrees with. I can pray every night to win the lottery, but chances are that God doesn't want that for my life. Instead, I pray for God to reveal his goals for my life. Once I know the direction I am going, I know better what I need.

    Here's an example. I moved to a new school three years ago. When I came, there was an opening for a writing teacher and one for a social studies teacher. I really wanted the social studies spot, but since my Master's degree is Reading Education, my new principal told me to teach writing. I was upset because I knew how much work it would be to grade 70 writing papers each time I gave an assignment. I wasn't even sure I would enjoy teaching writing three times a day each day.

    I prayed to God that my classes would be interesting, and I wanted to feel like teaching writing was a worthy use of my time. Three years later, teaching writing has opened new doors to my own writing. I write every day at school. I finally decided to start finishing these scraps of writing and trying to make some extra money out of them. I haven't gotten rich, but doors have opened.

    It took me seeing God's plan before I knew what to ask for. If we trust God's design for our life, our hearts will know their desires.