A Good Father Takes the Time to Teach Us (Even What We Don’t Want to Learn)

By Mary Donnelly

When I was 16 and got my license, my stepdad made sure that before I was allowed to drive on my own, I had to learn how to change a flat tire and check and fill the oil. I first watched as he demonstrated both to me and then I had to do them each on my own while he watched.

I found this all a bit annoying at the time and felt like he was just putting a damper on my excitement. I just wanted to get in the car and go!

But sure enough, within just a few short months of having my driver’s license, I was with some girlfriends in an empty parking lot, late at night and not within walking distance to anywhere with a phone (that sounds like the makings of a horror movie … what were we thinking?!). Of course, this was the olden days, long before everyone had cell phones 😊 and lo and behold, a flat tire; and guess who was the only one who knew how to change a flat?

My stepdad had prepared me for the unexpected. He made me learn something I didn’t think was important to know but when I needed it, it was one of the most important things I could know at that moment.

This reminds me of how our heavenly Father allows us to go through things or uses things in our lives to teach us valuable lessons and to train and equip us for something we may not even realize we will face down the road.

These painful times can seem to be harsh and unfair at worst or a bit annoying at best. But our Father is showing us, teaching us, and waiting for us to be ready for Him to let us step out. We can’t know what we haven’t learned and sometimes the learning part is inconvenient, to say the least. However, when that moment comes that you need what God has been preparing you for all along, you can confidently step out in faith knowing that you have been equipped to do what God has called you to do or strategically placed you to do.

Fear is diminished and faith is increased because you’ve done this before. You’ve been in that place where you needed provision, and He provided. You’ve been in that place where you needed healing, and He healed. You’ve been in that place where you needed wisdom, and He gave it to you. You’ve been in that place where you needed comfort, and He held you in His arms. You’ve been in that place where you needed a miracle, and He did what only He can do.

Sometimes we just want to get in the car and go, but God might have to teach us a few things so we will be ready for the very moment that He is preparing us for.

Donnelly Mary

Mary Donnelly

is a follower and servant of Jesus, who is the love of her life, along with her husband, Frank, their three wonderful children, and their grandchildren, who are their sheer delight. Her prayer and her quest is to be transformed into God’s image more and more each day. One of her greatest pleasures is studying God’s word and applying it to her everyday life. She is a woman who knows what it means to live in captivity, bound by fears, lies, and her own brokenness, but she rejoices today because she is also a woman who knows what it means to be set free! One of her greatest passions is to share God’s truths in a way that will shine a light to another sojourner on the pathway to freedom.