June 20
2014
Convocation and the Promises of God
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
2 Corinthians 1:20
Oh how marvelous and mysterious are the promises of God. He whispers them in our spirit, shouts them from the mountaintops and in the valleys and speaks them through the voices of His people. They bond with our spirit and we know in our hearts and minds and in the deepest parts of who we are that the promise was for us – even in the midst of “going through”. Sometimes we forget. The promises slip away in time and life and living. But they sit deep within us like seeds, ready to break forth. He is faithful to bring them to mind at the right time. And SUDDENLY! And when they are brought to our remembrance we have to smile and laugh in amusement and in awe, because they never look the way we envisioned them. God’s ways are so much higher than ours. He works things out in the most roundabout, awesome ways so that we and those around us KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that the fulfillment of the promise was His doing, not ours.
May 2010 I was given an awesome opportunity to attend a 2 Week Prayer Counselling course. Amazing things happened in that two week period – things I still haven’t unraveled but know in my spirit changed my life. At the graduation ceremony I was given Isaiah 54. And even as I read it through for the first time the promises of God settled deep in my spirit and began to grow. Oh how excited I was. So many things to look forward to.
“Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD.
Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.
Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.
For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.
For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God.
For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you.
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer.
For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal,and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire,who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn.This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.
Isaiah 54
And in the last 4 years I have gone back time and time again to this passage – remembering the day the promises settled in my spirit. Thanking God for the fulfillment of all things in His time. And, if I want to be honest, occasionally asking “how long Lord?”.
But again, how marvelous and mysterious the promises of God. As I waited for the promises to grow into the visions I had for them, God was working a totally different plan, in a different direction, right before my eyes. But I was too busy waiting for my vision to take notice.
In 2012 I began teaching. I started with a small class that seemed to get smaller every day. But in the end I graduated my first class. I clearly remember their first day of clinical placement and even more clearly their last day of classes. And then the updates as they moved on and found work. And then as we met together and they excitedly shared their lives. Meanwhile another class had started. And again, those first clinical days, watching them grow and become independent and the last day as I left that workplace and they prepared to finish their course. The day of their Provincial Exam and the flurry of emails as they found out they had passed. Tears of joy and sorrow mingled.
Shortly after I secured another teaching position. More students. More teaching. So many moments missed in the learning curve and the busyness of a new job.
And the Lord kept bringing me back to this passage – Isaiah 54. “See what I’m doing” He whispered? And at some level I did, but consciously I just kept moving. Pouring myself out and into these lives that had been left in my hands. Teaching, encouraging, watching. They learned, I learned! We grew together. And another year went by and in June of 2013 I sat on the stage at Convocation for the first time and watched with tears as my students walked across the stage, accepted their certificates and walked into my arms for a hug. I felt so blessed and privileged to have had the opportunity to watch them grow and then fly.
By this time I had yet another class – they had just started their first clinical placement as I sat at Convocation. I had a moment of clarity- I was not just teaching, I was called to this place. A place of privilege and blessing – privileged to be allowed the opportunity to speak into the lives of these students. Privileged to be able to help prepare them for the health care system and their clients and their lives. Blessed to be learning as much from them each day as I was teaching them.
And again, time moved on, caught up in the battle to keep ahead; correcting, preparing, working through the challenges but more aware of the moments in the journey. And another class ending – with crazy last day photos, lots of laughter and hugs and a few tears (well, maybe more than a few tears). And again, the emails, the updates, the snapshots of growth in each of our lives.
And another class and the same process.
Perhaps I’m a bit of a slow learner- I’ve been known to have to circle the mountain a few times before learning the lesson 🙂
Tuesday, June 27th – Convocation. This year both classes mine, convocating together. Completely different groups of students, but all coming together to celebrate their accomplishments. Pre convocation conversations and email messages got the tears started early.
And sometime before – Isaiah 54. “What Lord? Why do you keep bringing me back here? The promises don’t look like they are forthcoming…….I can’t see through the circumstances”. But I was looking in the physical realm and the Father was working in the spiritual realm.
Convocation, gowns, hugs, hurried updates, lining everyone up, everyone has tissues, a few laughs and “how did we get here?’s and it was time. The procession into the auditorium, seated on the stage, keeping an eye on our group, watching as each program walks the platform. It is time. We take our places on the stage and as each name is called I wait. Eventually they make their way down the stage and throw themselves into my arms and I hold on tight and I wonder how we all got here.
I wonder, how many students have I congratulated in the last few years? How many students have I shed tears over, in joy, as I watch them fly? Well over 100 to date I suppose. And why does each individual student cause tears. How can I have that many tears for people I only know for such a short period of time? And it hits me. Isaiah 54.
As I sit back in my seat, my students all back in their seats, smiling and wiping tears and congratulating each other, I hear “See what I’m doing?”. And this time I stop and listen and hear. And I know that the promises that were once seeds in my spirit have bloomed in front of me, even while I was looking elsewhere for them.
“Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,” says the LORD.
Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.
Teaching has never been just a job – it has been a passion and a calling – a blessing in my life. And now I understand. The Father has been faithful in His promises. He has granted me the privilege, wisdom, stamina and ability to give of myself day after day. To pour out into each student something unique and particular to them. To watch them grow, encourage them, help them understand that life is a journey not a destination, that learning is a life long process and that one day – no matter what today looks like – they will FLY! He has allowed me to “enlarge the place of my tent” – my heart – to make room for each one. And He has allowed me to stretch and expand by allowing me to leave a piece of me with each one as they leave and go on their way. Each student is a precious stone in my wall.
No weapon against me has been allowed to prosper. In the midst of each storm (there have been many), He has held me, carried me and granted me the will and strength, in Him, to move forward.
And so, the Father, in His typical mysterious fashion, whispered in my ear “look here, the promise is fulfilled” – “the seed you have been staring at has already bloomed into a beautiful bouquet”. “Look now before you miss the marvelous thing that I have done”.
I was humbled and in awe and at that moment as I looked into the auditorium I saw, indeed, a beautiful bouquet of fresh and excited faces, ready to go out, FLY, and change the world.
Are you waiting on the promises of God? Look up, for He is doing a marvelous thing. Don’t stare at the seed that has been planted, turn your eyes on Him and look where He is looking that you don’t miss the marvelous thing He is doing.
