As I sat down in frontof the computer before starting my humanities final exam, I felt fullyconfident that I could quite possibly answer every question correctly andachieve a perfect score. After all, for several weeks I had been repeatedlyreviewing the wide variety of material on that subject that I needed to passfor completion of my credit requirements to finally graduate from college.

But when the computerstarted the countdown on the timed exam, beginning with the very firstquestion, my hope of the perfect score faded real fast. The content andstructure of the questions asked did not, even in the least little bit,resemble any of the materials I had so meticulously studied for weeks on end.The overall subject was the same, but as far as the wording of the questionsand the type of answers required, it may as well have been written in ancientHebrew as far as I was concerned. I got a little bit more nervous and flusteredwith each passing question that I had no idea how to answer and had to keeptaking wild guesses.

Thankfully, my vastexperience in the field of guesswork paid off and I was rewarded, just barely,with a passing grade and invited to graduate.

Thinking about thatexperience reminded me of a line from a song by the country music group RascallFlatts that says, "Yeah life throws you curves, but you learn toswerve." That test definitely threw me a curve, but I swerved back and forthall over the map and gave it my best guess.

That's what we have todo, probably half the time, on our cruise through our journey into Better Life.On many occasions we can feel like we're sufficiently prepared for what we knowis ahead and, wham! Out of nowhere comes a stretch of situations we've nevereven heard of, much less feel like we're even remotely ready to handle them.

In times like that, itmakes all the difference in the world to have the confidence deep inside,knowing we're not alone and that we've got what it takes to successfullynavigate the turn of events.

In the New LivingTranslation of Isaiah 30:21 there is a promise of God's guidance for all of uswho seek to (BE)TTER by walkingthrough this life with Him: "Your own ears will hear Him. Right behindyou a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right orto the left."

Even when we have noidea what may be around the next bend in the road, we can proceed withconfidence.  Relying on God'snavigational system will help us get an "A" for effort and pass everytest with flying colors.