He Causes the Rain to Fall . . .

Friday afternoon I faced a dilemma. I had committed to help build a bonfire for the HIC outing to Chilpo Beach, but as I was finishing up some work in my office, Prof. Kim, my Department Chair, walked in and sat down. With a serious look on his face, he explained that the law student meeting planned for this evening was a very important meeting -- the first of the semester. He appealed to me requesting again that I come to this meeting, as he had done yesterday at our faculty luncheon. He very much wanted to introduce me to the Korean law students.

You see, the undergraduate School of Law is made up of both UIL majors (those studying U.S. and International Law) and Korean Law majors. The students studying Korean Law are planning to become lawyers in Korea or possibly Civil Servants with the government. According to Prof. Kim, the Korean law students have not associated very well with the UIL students in the past. He is hoping that my presence on the UIL faculty along with the addition of Prof. Chang (who, though he is a Korean national, earned two law degrees at Cornell Law School in New York) will help to bring the undergraduate law students together.

The pressure was on! I'm beginning to understand how Koreans try to persuade you to comply with their requests. What was I to do? I told Prof. Kim that I would go and speak with the young man from HIC (the international church on campus) to whom I had committed my help in building the bonfire. I said that I would explain my situation to him and see if I could still help prepare for the fire and come to the law student meeting a little later on. I was trying to figure out a way to be in two places at the same time.

The Lord intervened, though. As I was helping Kris load firewood into the back of the church van, it began to rain. About half-way through the loading process, Kris got a call on his mobile. It was Pastor Dave informing him that the bonfire outing had been cancelled due to the rain. Kris and I had had a good time talking while working together. But now, I was at liberty to take the walk across campus to my hermitage, change my shirt and head back to Nehemiah Hall where the law student meeting was just beginning.

When I arrived, I was heartily greated by Prof. Kim, and my TA, Mr. Mok. I was pleasantly suprised to find that the students had even prepared a place at one of the tables for me with my name in Korean, no less!



It reads "Cordell, Professor." I was tremendously encouraged by the Korean law students who sat with me at our table. Each one introduced himself and spoke of how they were seeking God's guidance for their futures. One young man who introduced himself by his English name "David J. Sparrow" even quoted one of his favorite Bible verses: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." He said he was confident that God would direct him in through his education and into his career.

All in all, the evening was a true blessing. I'm completely exhausted and needing to get my rest. But, it is wonderful to see how God does indeed direct our steps and enable us to live a balanced life as we yield to Him and seek to serve others. So, good night. May you rest well and rise tomorrow to learn more of His faithfulness that is new every morning!