Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand (Psalm 73:23 NIV).

When I was in tenth grade, I made a decision I’ve never regretted. I chose to switch from the Academic course (college prep) to the Stenographic course. The overriding desire of my heart was to marry Donn, my childhood sweetheart, and to be a wife and mother. However, since he would still have a year of college after I graduated from high school, I wanted to be prepared to get a job.

I loved the Stenographic/Business course and excelled at Shorthand, Typing, Business English and Business Math, all useful life skills. My grades, never poor, improved as I worked on these courses that seemed practical and worthwhile. Near the end of my senior year, I applied for a job with a Mennonite insurance company located in Goshen, Indiana, where Donn and my sister, Judy, attended college. They hired me and I shared an apartment with my sister until she and Donn graduated a year later.

Looking back, I’m amazed at how the Holy Spirit guided my choices at that young age. When I told my mother years later I was surprised I’d had the good sense to choose such a good husband at my immature age, she just smiled and said, “I think he chose you!” Regardless, I believe sometimes it’s only in retrospect that we recognize how faithfully God has been with us and how firmly He has held us by our right hand!

Merciful Father, thank you for guiding us at times when we could so easily have lost our way. Amen.

Photos: #1 The apartment my sister and I shared was in this house. #2 My tenth grade picture. #3 Mennonite Mutual Aid, actually a lot larger than shown here. #4 Our engagement photo taken in 1968.

( Devotional from Homespun Faith, Reflections from the Seasons of Life, copyright 2014 Daisy Beiler Townsend. Available as paperback or ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon Press. Locally at Fresh Grounds, M & M Grocery, Leanna’s Books, Penn Alps in Grantsville, Maryland, or from me 724-373-8445 or donaisy@neo.rr.com.)