Just recently my family and I went through some very stressful series of events. I come from a rather large family and it seemed that every member of my family was suffering through a rash explosion of health concerns and other personal issues. At the time I became rather stressed while trying to deal with helping my grandparents out, trying to check on my aunt to make sure there wasnt anything she needed, trying to stay in contact with my parents and little brother (though my parents and brother live about 10 miles outside of town, which is where I live, it is difficult to see them except for Sunday mornings at church), and then dealing with my own personal issues. My dad recieved news about two or three weeks ago from the state department saying that he was going to have to undergo an investigation before he was allowed to take the BAR exam (he graduated from law school this past December), it was partly standard proceedure but also one of his former employers was disgruntled still from when my dad quit working for him, ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO, rediculous I know. He tried to convince my dad before he quit that my dad would never be able to find a job doing work for anyone else because no one was as 'generous' as he was and given the fact that my dad only had nearly two years of college behind him. Which my dad being a computer technician knew better than to be fed the lies of an employer who would stoop to nothing to prove his point. My dad after working for this man for almost five years quit his job and began as a server at a restuarant in Nashville. Soon after he was promoted to manager and from there we moved when I was 10 to Orlando, where my dad began work as a health insurance man, working for a major insurance company in Orlando. Five years went by and we had not heard from his employer. After living in Orlando for five years my dad made a change, he realized that he needed to finish his education, at least recieve his bachelors degree. So we moved back to Mississippi, where my dad worked extreemly hard and recieved his bachelors degree in Political Science. From there he decided that he wanted to get his law degree and so he did, in fact he finished a semester early because he devoted his summers to law school, even when it meant spending 7 weeks in Hawaii for two summers with myself, my mother, and my little brother. Now I know that seems well funny to hear that but while my mother, brother, and I were outside playing in the beautiful Hawaiian sun my dad spent most of his time indoors having to regretably study. Now after living for five years in Mississippi, my dad has completed his bachelors degree and gone to law school and completed his law degree with honors. It has been ten years and my dad just recently heard that his former boss (because in Ms the state requires that you list every employer you have had in just over the previous ten years so that the state can do some research and basically a background check on all people applying to take the BAR exam... its just precautionary) said that my dad should not be allowed to take the BAR. Well my dad went through alot of paper work and had to write a paper explaining why he feels he should be allowed to take the exam, in which he expressed his faith that God works in all things and that no matter what happened he knew that it would not be the end of the world because he knew that God will be there every step of the way. Which leads me to the point, God works in mysterious ways, my dad quite honestly was sad that there was even the slightest chance that someone as vindictive as a man he has not heard from in nearly ten years, could ruin what he has worked so hard to become and so naturally my dad has been a little depressed. Today though God has proven that even through the obstacles that seem so large and invasive he can do his work to help others as well as ourselves. My dad was notified over the phone that after the inquiry there was no evidence to support the man who said my dad shouldnt take the BAR and my dad said that the weight seemed to have been lifted. There was a pause though on the phone when the woman who had called informed him of his ability to take the exam. She started to speak once more and said to my dad that there was one condition, that he pray for her and her son. See her son is a police officer somewhere south of here and there are some issues that their family are going through because of his job and it could create some even large and legal issues for their family. The thing about this is that though my dad and my family could not understand why he was even being questioned, as to whether or not he should be allowed to take the exam, we now know why. God had a more intricate detail to his plan that only he could see at first, we only saw the smaller picture: my dad's problem, we did not see the bigger picture: the fact that someone else could benefit from my dad's problem. God works in mysterious ways, he does amazing works, even on the cloudiest of days the sun can shine through making the day a bright and sunshiny day. My favorite song for the week is "I can see clearly": I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way, Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, its going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day..." God does this for us, though we can only see the smaller picture in life but God knows what is best for us and eventually when the clouds are cleared away we will understand in the end. Thats my thought for the day.