My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11-12
André had a plan. A perfect plan, meticulously designed in his mind and on his spreadsheets. He would graduate with honors in architecture, secure a position at the renowned firm “Souza & Pires,” marry his girlfriend, Júlia, and, by the age of thirty, have his own firm and a comfortable life. It was a good plan. And, as a dedicated Christian, he presented it to God in his prayers, not as a request, but almost as a statement.
The first “correction” came in the form of an email. The position at Souza & Pires, his dream job, for which he was the most qualified candidate, was given to someone else. André was shocked, then furious.
“Lord, this makes no sense!” he prayed, his frustration overflowing. “I did everything right!” He rejected the closed door, seeing it not as a redirection, but as a divine mistake.
Disheartened, he accepted a position at a small, without prestigious firm that worked mainly on renovation projects for low-income communities. He felt like a failure; a talent wasted on “minor” projects.
The second “rebuke” was even more painful. After their engagement, Júlia began to distance herself. Conversations about the future became tense. She loved him, she said, but she did not share his faith.
“André, I can’t be the woman who leads a couples’ group at your church,” she finally confessed. “I don’t see myself in your future.” The breakup left him devastated. He felt abandoned, by her and by God.
His plan was in ruins. The life he had so carefully designed had been demolished. He was filled with bitterness, feeling like a son treated unjustly by a Father who would not listen to him.
It was his own father, a man of few words and much wisdom, who gave him a new perspective.
“Son,” he said one Sunday afternoon, “sometimes we ask God to guide us, but we only accept the guidance if it leads us to the destination we have already chosen. A father’s love is not about giving his son everything he wants. Sometimes, the greatest act of love is to say ‘no’ to protect him from a path he cannot see is dangerous.”
The words took root in André’s wounded heart. He began to look at his frustrations not as rejections, but perhaps as… discipline.
In his “minor” job, he discovered a passion he did not know he had. Designing functional and dignified spaces for people who could never afford an architect brought him a sense of purpose that no glass skyscraper ever could. He learned to listen to people, to understand their real needs. He was becoming a better architect and a better man.
Months later, at his church, he met Patrícia. She was a volunteer on the same community project he was working on. The connection was instant, built on a foundation of shared faith and a genuine love for serving. With Patrícia, he did not have to explain his faith; he lived it alongside her.
One evening, years later, André was at home, helping his son assemble a puzzle. He owned a socially conscious architecture firm, was married to Patrícia, and was happier than he had ever imagined possible.
That day, he learned that Souza & Pires had filed for bankruptcy, embroiled in a major corruption scandal. He also learned that Júlia had married, but that her marriage was going through serious difficulties.
He looked at his life. It was not the perfect plan he had designed. It was something infinitely better. Every closed door, every painful “no,” every unexpected detour had been, in fact, the hand of a loving Father correcting him, rebuking him, protecting him.
He finally understood. The discipline of the Lord was not a punishment; it was a rescue. And he, as a son whom God delighted in, was loved enough to have his path radically altered, to be guided not to the life he wanted, but to the life he needed.
(Made with AI)
This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom
https://books2read.com/u/3knogL
