Obedience In The Direction of “NO”
“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? (Galatians 5:7)
I was not chosen…and I was okay with that. Actually, a bit relieved.
The Back Story: Our school board experienced an unexpected resignation. As a result, the process to appoint a replacement began. The recent November election had been contentious. Battle lines were drawn, with the remaining four board members being viewed as a highly conservative group. The two newly elected board members ran with that as their platform, defeating the two incumbents.
A parent who I greatly respect came to me and asked if I would consider applying for the vacant board spot. The same thing happened to me in Michigan when a school board member there had moved out of the district. I was selected to replace her and then ran in the next election and served another four years.
This time, I checked with some people whose opinions and perspectives I highly respect to get their thoughts. I fully expected to receive “stop signs” and comments like “What in the world are you thinking!!!” But they went the other direction on me. So I applied…as did 23 others!
I had to get a resume together. I can’t remember the last time I did a resume! And then, all of the responses from all of the applicants were put online for anyone who suffered from insomnia to read. The list was narrowed down from 24 to 5 finalists, who will be interviewed by the board. I’m not one of them, and a relieving exhale filled our home.
Sometimes, obedience doesn’t always lead us to a yes conclusion. Sometimes, we’re asked to simply be willing to take that first step. I wouldn’t have even thought about applying if the parent hadn’t come to our house and talked to Carol and me about it. The surprise of that visit and conversation caused me to seek whether God was in the leading or not. Only a handful of people knew that I had applied and, quite honestly, those few folks, all had a tugging. They urged me to proceed and yet they were concerned for my welfare in a heated environment. They saw that I could make a difference, but were worried for the stress level that would come with the responsibilities of the position.
Following the leading of the Lord does not always make the headlines. In fact, it may make only the fine print, or in my case the end of the long list of 24 resumes that were placed in alphabetical order.
Words from WW Blog 
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