Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Placed Where You Are Supposed to Be

Longtime Aubrey School District (TX) custodian Marilyn Hampton came before the school board recently, invited to speak on a particular issue. But before Hampton could say a word, the superintendent invited her to roll out a red carpet. When she did, Hampton was amazed at the logo on the carpet: Marilyn Hampton Elementary School. The school district had named its newest elementary school in her honor.

Hampton retired four years ago from her custodial job after 39 years of service. But she was known as a teacher as much as a janitor. Hampton also bought and delivered school supplies, helped struggling students study for tests, ran the ticket booth at football games, and served as a constant uplifting presence in students' lives. Who knows how many students were touched by her?

Here's the most interesting part: Hampton had long considered herself a failure. Despite being the only one of eight siblings to graduate high school, Hampton felt like she failed by not attending college. But now, Marilyn's name will grace a place of learning.

Hampton told the Dallas Morning News, "One day I thought, Marilyn, God put you where you are supposed to be. And I'm very happy with the way things turned out. It's just more than a school to me. It's people and I love them."

"God put you where you are supposed to be." What a recognition of God's blessing, sovereignty, and providence! When we are faithful over a little, we are given much.

Now, that doesn't mean schools will be named for us. What it means is we will bless real people through our faithfulness to represent God in our own way, in our own time, right where we are.

God can use you today, right where you are, right where you are supposed to be. When you say "yes" and allow yourself to be used to help others and glorify God, you are putting faith into practice, just like Marilyn Hampton did.

To build your faith life, check out my new devotional workbook, The 40-Day Spiritual Soak: Grow by Immersing Yourself in the Bible's Favorite Verses. It's available for pre-order before Nov. 8 and then will be more widely available on Amazon and on the Cecil Taylor Ministries online store. Explore the book at https://www.ceciltaylorministries.com/the-40-day-spiritual-soak.