Before the elections, a lesson in leadership
A few years ago, our school district selected a new superintendent of schools. She was very intelligent, had some strong opinions and ideas, and was skilled at implementing her ideas even in the face of entrenched resistance.
One of these ideas was a kind of reorganization of the department of which I was (and still am) the head. While no personnel changes were proposed, everyone’s teaching assignment would be changed. I thought that the years of expertise and experience that each teacher had accumulated in his or her subject would be wasted, and we would end up with “inexperienced” teachers at each grade level, which would not be beneficial to the students. As you might imagine, the teachers were not happy either, and they asked me to arrange a face-to-face meeting with the superintendent. We were all sure that after hearing our side of the argument, she would surely relent and not make this major change.
At the meeting, teachers with as many as 35 years of experience made impassioned, and sometimes tearful, pleas for a change in plans, but the superintendent was unmoved. She told me afterward, “They are just afraid of change.” I was shocked; she was in the meeting but apparently hadn’t heard a thing we were saying. Now, what was I going to do?
I don’t know if you are like me or not, but sometimes I need to run into a brick wall before I listen—I mean really listen—to God. Shortly after I left the superintendent, an angel thought came to me: “This person is not in charge; God, divine Mind, is.” I saw that what was right for my teachers and all of our students would be done, and we would all be blessed, including my boss. And right then, I let go of any willful thoughts on the subject and thought, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42 ).
God, divine Mind, is always in control.
The superintendent’s proposed change was not supposed to happen until the next school year, so we all returned to the business at hand—educating our students—and set the issue aside. It wasn’t until about two years later, after the superintendent had left the district, that I realized the big change had never taken place. No one claimed victory or admitted defeat; it just never happened.
As you can imagine, I was grateful for one more proof of God’s loving care and perfect guidance. I was reminded of this statement from the Bible: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6 ).
This incident came back into thought recently, as I was praying about the upcoming election. I have done a great deal of reading about and listening to the candidates. Consequently, I will cast my vote for the one who I feel will be a good leader, but I will also remember what I learned about true leadership: that God, divine Mind, is always in control. No matter the outcome of the election, what is best for the citizens of our country as well as the world will be done. I will not let party labels mislead me into thinking that people are in charge—God is.
Mary Baker Eddy states on page 14 of Christian Science versus Pantheism: “Pray for the prosperity of our country, … . Pray that the divine presence may still guide and bless our chief magistrate, those associated with his executive trust, and our national judiciary; give to our congress wisdom, and uphold our nation with the right arm of His righteousness.” God leads our leaders. His love guides His entire spiritual creation, in which every useful idea is in its right place forever. Our prayers for our leaders will ensure that our next president will be blessed, and will be a blessing for our country.