When I was teaching the qualities of forgiveness and wisdom in different classrooms, the Lord was faithful to show me what to teach. Here are some examples of times He gave illustrations I had not even considered.

During one class on forgiveness, the principal announced an offense over the intercom and said she needed to talk to the one who did it. So instead of an interruption to our class, we  saw it as an illustration of the importance not only of forgiving those who offend us but also of asking for the forgiveness of those we offend. There was no way anyone but our faithful God could have planned an illustration like that in the middle of the class!

Another time I asked if anyone had had a chance to make a right choice since our last class on wisdom. A boy shared how he had broke a chess piece and felt like leaving and pretending not to have anything to do with it but instead he openly admitted it was his fault it broke. Later someone in the class mentioned a car related accident where the driver had hit someone and sped off without stopping, admitting he had done it, and helping the one he hurt. From this, the Lord led me to bring out the point that small right decisions lead to big right decisions. I praised the boy for dealing with his seemingly unimportant accident, thereby strengthening his character to help him deal with more serious accidents in the future.

On a third occasion, we were out at recess with them when they asked for a story. Sitting in the grass in a circle, I told them about the hardest time it had ever been for me to ask for forgiveness. Meanwhile, they picked little flower leaves and put them on my lap. Why? I think it was because God in His faithfulness wanted to once again surprise us with an object lesson. He gave me the idea to say that offences clutter up our lives like all these little leaves were cluttering up my skirt. The kids then brushed them off like forgiveness clears up the problem. Did I plan that? No, of course not.

These points were not planned – by me anyway. I am so grateful that if we ask, we can have the guidance of His Spirit in all we do. Luke 11:13 says “how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” I praise the Lord for answering the prayers of friends and family who were praying this for me.  God was faithful to guide each class!