God has different ways to get you there

Marian wanted to become a concert singer, a challenge that was doubly difficult because of the colour of her skin. Her mother, however, had a patient trust in God. Marian later said, “Mother’s religion made her believe she could receive what was right for her if she was conscientious in her faith. If it did not come, it was because God had not considered it right for her. We grew up in this atmosphere of faith that she created…We believed as she did, because we wanted the same kind of haven in the time of storm.” When Marian was denied admission to a famous music conservatory on account of her race, her mother said, “Someone would be raised up” to help her accomplish what she hoped to do at the conservatory. That someone arrived a few weeks later. One of Philadelphia’s outstanding voice teachers, Giuseppe Boghetti, made room for her to become one of his students. And Marian Anderson was on her way to becoming one of the most popular singers of the twentieth century. On Easter Sunday in 1939, she sang to 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial and gave a performance never to be forgotten by those present. Solomon said these two things about God’s guiding hand in our lives: (1) “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” (2) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT).