My husband, Joe, and I were talking yesterday about how this month, our pet duck, Larry, was going to be 10 years old. We marveled over the fact that twice, we had tried to give Larry away, but both times, the Lord had intervened and prevented us from doing so. The first time was when we needed to give one of our males away because we only had one female. Since our Katie was more attached to our male, Ginger, we decided to try to find another home for Larry. A kindly farmer offered to take him off our hands, but when the day came for us to give Larry away, a fierce ice storm arose and prevented us from traveling. Joe and I knew in our hearts that the Lord was trying to keep us from making a big mistake, and we told the farmer that we had reconsidered, and that we had decided to hold on to Larry.

The other occasion was when our female, Katie, had died, and Larry was not handling her death well at all. He was totally alone at the time because we had been compelled to give his brother Ginger away, after he attacked Larry viciously and tried to kill him. The Lord had provided Ginger with a wonderful new home in less than 48 hours, after I had asked Him to. But this time, I had earnestly prayed for a new home for Larry for more than a week, without the slightest inkling that God would answer my prayer. I was beside myself with grief and worry, watching Larry get more and more depressed. I knew that he would die of loneliness if we didn’t place him in an environment with other ducks very soon. As it turned out, the Lord did not provide another home for Larry, but He did provide us with a precious new female—Ginger’s own offspring, who we named Lily—to be the perfect mate for Larry.

The Bible says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV) If we want God’s best for us in our situation, then we must put aside reasoning and rationale, and we must ask the Lord to cause HIS will and purpose to prevail. When we do this in complete humility and submission, we will see God closing wrong doors, and opening right doors, to direct us along His perfect paths for us.

Today, Joe and I are so thankful that the Lord didn’t allow us to give our Larry away. And we rejoice in knowing that whenever we seek Him, we will have His loving hand to guide us, so that we won’t have to miss out on His very best!

Prayer: Lord, teach me how to seek Your will in every situation and circumstance. Help me to put my own strong desires on the altar, so that You can have Your way in my life. Guard me from preconceived notions and ungodly counsel that could rob me of Your best. Thank You that as I put my trust in Your wisdom, power, and goodness, I will receive all the blessings, rewards, and opportunities You have in store for me!

- J. M. Farro