CORBIN — Several months ago, my Sunday school teacher, Rick, mentioned a simple analogy in class one morning that has stuck with me all this time. I don’t recall it even being the primary focus of our discussion that day. It was just a quick example to paint a picture. Maybe it was just something God told him to say solely to have an impact on my attitude about life. Regardless, it’s a lesson I learned and something I think about almost daily.

The analogy he used was how his baby boy would always cry whenever he was placed in his car seat. The point was that even though the baby did not like the idea of being restrained, it was for his safety. The comparison Rick then made was that sometimes we complain about situations God places us in, but in the long run, we will be better off for it.

That notion has been something I have struggled with all my life. I’ve heard time and time again people who have come up to me and said, “I go to church all the time. I say my prayers. I read my Bible. So why does God let bad things happen to me?” And for a long time, I always wondered the same thing.

I had always believed that if you are a good Christian and do what God asks you to do, then as a trade, He should make sure life is just always peachy for you as long as you live.

But I’ve learned that if you’re in that mindset, you are really missing the point.

We are here to do God’s work while having faith that, in the end, God knows what is best for us. And while sometimes we may be placed in situations we think are bad, if we just stick it out, God will bless us and place us where we need to be.

The best example from my life was how God ultimately led me here to Corbin and to my wife, Carmen.

After I received my four-year degree from the University of Kentucky, I had made the decision to further my education and get an MBA degree. I didn’t want to get too far from home, so I applied to all of the MBA programs that were in Kentucky.

I really wanted to get in to UK’s program because it seemed like it was one of the best. But after taking several practice GMAT exams, which is the entry exam for most MBA programs, my scores were always way too low to even be considered by UK.

So as I headed into the classroom to take my official GMAT, I had already convinced myself that I would need to settle for another school.

But somehow, by a miracle in my opinion, I scored high enough that day to get into any MBA program here in Kentucky. So after that, there was no more debating. I was going to grad school at UK.

But after a few short weeks, I was already getting way behind and had not received a decent grade on anything. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was in way over my head. So before I flunked out, I dropped out.

I was left questioning why God had led me to a school where I was going to fail. But in my opinion, I believe I would have succeeded at some of the other schools and might have gone on to find some type of career in business. However, God knew this was not what was right for me.

So after that, my mother introduced me to the design program where I went to and excelled. That experience and degree ultimately helped me land this job in Corbin — which is also where I met Carmen.

Had I started a career in business, who knows where I would be right now? I’m pretty confident I would not have met my wife, and I probably wouldn’t be doing a job I enjoy.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

So while it was difficult and discouraging to go through failing at school, I should have realized that I was not where God wanted me to be and he had an even bigger and better plan for my life.

Now I have a wonderful wife, a nice home and a great church family where I am excited about doing God’s work. And I absolutely thank God everyday for leading me to it all.

Brad Hall is the nighttime editor for the Times-Tribune. He can be reached at bhall@thetimestribune.com

reAwake

There will be a complete column on this in the near future, but in the meantime, I want to let everyone know about an event coming this spring.

It’s called “re:Awake” and it will be a revival for our youth here in the Tri-County.

It will be at 7 p.m. each night starting Monday, April 8, at the Lynn Camp High School auditorium.

There will be music, skits and speakers, including Greg Locke from Nashville, Tenn.

For more information, you can call 606-523-9424, email office@jesusishope.net, or you can find the event on Facebook at

tinyurl.com/reawake

I personally hope to see this place packed, and as the name implies, I hope all of our youth have a spiritual reawakening.