By Michele Eich
Months before I came to faith in Christ, God showed up in a miraculous way. Through an incredible “coincidence,” I discovered what was truly missing in my life.
For years, I taught middle school language arts. I am one of those rare and slightly crazy people who love to be around seventh and eighth graders. Getting kiddos excited about parts of speech, reading, and writing makes me happy. It was my daily goal to get them stoked about English with as few eye rolls as possible.
When I tell people about my love for all things middle school, they look at me like I have three eyeballs. I mean, who wouldn’t want to spend their days diagramming sentences with pre-teens on the brink of puberty? Yes, there is a ton of drama, but they are incredible young people who need a teacher who understands them and believes in their enormous potential.
One particular day, I had given my kids a special project to work on. They had to type letters to younger students at the elementary school across the street. This was a really fun activity for them to do, but it was super stressful to me. Picture going into a small and stuffy computer lab with about two dozen 12-year-olds who may or may not be wearing deodorant. We got the hand me down technology from the high school, so it was anyone’s guess if things would function properly or not.
That was the plan for the day, and on my way to work that morning, I prayed to a God that I wasn’t even sure existed. My petition was that things would go smoothly; the students would be good, and that technology would cooperate and not malfunction.
On top of the stress of the day ahead, my personal life was in absolute turmoil. I was searching for meaning in life, wondering if God was listening, and feeling a ton of stress as a soon to be single mom of four children.
My “prayer” was that I would not let my stress level escalate to the point of ruining this fun activity for the students. They really did enjoy writing letters to younger children. During our 45-minute class period, they would have to type said letters, proof them with my help, and hope that the printer would not jam or run out of ink. Sounds simple, right?
Surprisingly I got through the day with no issues in all of my classes. A miracle was in the making! My job was then to match each letter to the envelope that the elementary teachers provided with each student’s name on the front. Everything was moving along spectacularly when I came to a typed letter that said, “Dear _____________,”. What in the world? How could one of my seventh graders have skipped putting a name on the paper? Dear “Blank”? Seriously?
At that point, I had to go back through the 200 envelopes to figure out the missing name. I finally got to it and was amazed at what I saw. The missing name was “Faith.” As soon as I read it, I heard God’s still, small voice speak to my heart: “Faith is not just missing on the letter. It is what is missing in your life.” Boom!
Those words resonated deep within me because I knew it was 100% true. I had been trying to figure things out in my own head. I wanted God to prove Himself to me during a time of intense doubt and turmoil. What I really needed was simple faith. This is a fundamental part of being a Christian. God’s word says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Whatever challenges we face in life, the solution can almost always be found in simple trust. If I am stressed about finances, it is not as much about the money but about my level of trust in God, my provider. If we have sickness in the family, I need to trust the One who brings healing to our bodies. Maybe you can think of a situation you are facing. May I gently ask you this: Are you putting your faith in God who loves you beyond measure?
The more I think about this situation, the more I realize what a miracle this truly was. The paper was typed by my most responsible and conscientious student who always went over everything with a fine-toothed comb. In addition to that, the missing name was not common like Josh, Jessica, or Jennifer. Soon after that incident, I asked Jesus to be part of my life. It began with a simple step of faith for which I am forever grateful.
No matter what you are facing today, let me encourage you that faith will connect you with the One who has the answer and is the answer. That’s the lesson that this teacher learned many years ago. Looking back, I marvel at the way that my Father pursued me in amazing ways and lovingly drew me to Himself, even in the midst of a middle school computer lab.
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