Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels. When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, House of Israel, can't I do with you as this potter?' Jeremiah 18:3 WEBWhen I was young, I followed the family tradition of dropping out of school and getting a job. By seventeen I was married with a child on the way, house, car, full time job as a construction laborer, and the bills were coming due. My Dad was on his own at thirteen. I was a late bloomer. I did not know of anyone in my family that had ever finished high school. You were not expected to. I honestly do not remember hearing the word 'college' until I was in my twenties, that was never an option.
When I was nearing thirty, I was serving the Lord with all my heart, and one Sunday night at church, the Lord spoke to me and urged me to go back to school. The word came through the pastor's wife, who simply came up to me and said: 'Dion, the Lord wants you to get your GED.' Her words had impact and I knew that it was the Lord speaking to me through her, so I took it seriously.
The following morning, I went to the adult education center in Conway, South Carolina to see what it would take for me to finish school. Though the parking area was full of cars, there was one spot open right by the entrance. I went inside and they explained that I had been out of school for a long time. I would need to take a pre-test and then we would start classes to learn the areas that I needed to work on. Best case scenario, in about one year I would have my GED. This was during the 90s in the South, computers were rare, and all school work was done with a pencil and paper.
I went back Tuesday and took the pre-test. There was a parking spot right in front of the door that was open for me. Answers to the multiple tests came easily and I breezed right through it. On Wednesday, I went back to see my test results and get the books that I needed so that I could get started studying. Once again, my parking spot in front of the door was open for me.
When I walked up to the counter, a couple of instructors were discussing some papers. One looked at me, cocked her head to one side and asked 'How long have you been studying?' I told her that I had just decided to start Sunday night. She said 'Well, you did excellent. You needed a 70 to pass. You scored a 97. I believe that you are ready to take the test. It is too bad that you did not come a few weeks earlier. The GED test is only given in this part of the state every six months. It is going to be held in Georgetown this Saturday, but the state requires you to sign up a month in advance.' She paused a moment and said, 'Let me call them.'
She called someone, found out they had a cancelation, got transferred to someone else, then to someone else, faxed them my test scores, smiled at me and said 'You got in!' She was so happy, she hugged me. Saturday I drove to Georgetown to take the eight hour test. As usual, there was a parking spot open for me near the door. The test had questions like 'How far is the sun from the earth?' I didn't have a clue. So I prayed and just wrote whatever came to mind, and it was right. I was one of the first to finish.
The following Sunday when I returned to church, I had my GED. I had completed the entire process in one week. I went on to attend bible college for a bachelor's degree and graduated. It was totally the Holy Spirit reshaping my life. He was the driver, I was the co-pilot, and I was just along for the ride.
It does not matter if you were brought up as trash. When you submit your life to God and follow His guidance, He will begin to put your life back together and make it meaningful. God is able to reshape you on His potter's wheel (Jeremiah 18:1). Just because that is the way that it has always been, does not mean that is the way that it will always be. When He adopts you into His family, He may break all of your old family traditions.
Prayer: Heavenly Father I want all that You have for me. Break me out of my tiny box and change my way of thinking. Teach me what I need to know, lead me and I will follow You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.Note: "I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer" (Psalm 17:6) If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page:
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Thank you very much pastor for your honesty and love for Jesus we have similar past i only have a 10th grade education and I wonder if God wants me to go back to school? Hmm i will be praying on it for sure.
Amen!
Yes Lord, amen
Amen!!
Amen.
Amen! God can move things along when you wouldn't think its possible, Nothing is impossible for God. What a good good Father :)
Amen Lord.
Amen! Father, please allow your Holy Spirit to have His perfect work in us!
Amen and Amen. God is Good!!
Yes lord walk with me amen
Heavenly Father I want all that You have for me. Break me out of my tiny box and change my way of thinking. Teach me what I need to know, lead me and I will follow You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen! Thank you Pastor Dion for sharing that :)
Amen
Amen.
Heavenly Father I need You, bring down all the walls that are stopping me. Lead me to what You want me to be and do. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Wow, what a testimony! Praise the Lord! It is always good to remember where we come from, where we were and where we are now, because of the Lord's goodness, grace & mercy, speaking for myself. He is the Creator, He formed me, and yet He didn't stop there! Praise His holy name! He is the potter and He continously works on us, shapes us, molds us, leads and directs us. He has big plans for us, and all we have to do is to surrender to His will and accept Him as our Lord and Savior! - Lord, please make me and shape me, You are the potter and I'm the clay, in Jesus name I ask and pray, Amen!
I thank You Lord for always being there for me. Please show me what You want me to do with my life. I don't know what direction to take. I lost my skating career, You took Shawn to be with You and now I'm lost. I don't have the money to go back to school, and am struggling at my current job. Please help me Lord. I need Your help and direction desperately. I also need a home. In Jesus' Name,I ask this. Amen.
I left school in the eleventh grade. My Mom had five Children and she also adopted my nephew. All of us did not finish High School but we all got our GED. I went to school to become a Cosmetologist. I have been licensed to do hair since 2004. I tried to go to College a few times but it did not work out for me. I always had a passion for writing, so I published my first book. I always wanted to be a author. I thank God for what he has done for me. He has helped me get through many storms in my life. I love Jesus and I am grateful that he saved me. I believe that I can do anything through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
Amen. Praise God! Thanks Pastor Todd! Heavenly Father I want all that You have for me. Break me out of my tiny box and change my way of thinking. Teach me what I need to know, lead me and I will follow You, in the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Amen!
Thank you for sharing this....it's so inspiring to read what God has prompt us to do and actually do it. Praise be to God.