Just Trust Me

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will make your paths straight.”

One of the first, most profound lessons I learned as a young Christian took place in the fall of 1973, from a gruff Marine drill sergeant turned marching band show designer named Vinnie Ratford. Vinnie was a brilliant show designer, sought after around the country. We were lucky to have him train the University of New Hampshire Marching Band, of which I was a member.
We were in the third day of seven consecutive 12-hour rehearsals, working on an incredibly complex maneuver, which involved the horn sections split into large “V-shapes.” After a number of futile attempts, Vinnie came running out of the stands screaming, “A flock of geese can make a better “V” than you guys!” He yelled for us to stop and continued to berate us and compare us to geese. Yet, after tearing us down, he built us back up. I remember his words, “I’m the best show designer in the country. My shows are mathematically perfect. If you will just trust me, and go the exact number of steps in the direction I tell you to go, you’ll be the best marching band in the East! You’ll get a standing ovation at every show!” And he was right. Every one of our shows ended with the stadium giving us a standing ovation, even at away games.
It was a few years later when the Lord brought this memory and Vinnie’s words to mind, as I applied it to my walk with God. As Solomon said, if I will trust God with all of my heart and not myself, He will make my paths straight. If I go the exact number of steps in the direction He tells me to go, He will guide me and bless me. His plans are “mathematically perfect!” Now, I’m not looking for a standing ovation, but I do want to be obedient and pleasing to God. I want to hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
Did Vinnie realize he was teaching me a spiritual truth? Probably not. I don’t even know if he was a believer. Yet God used this man, and a marching band rehearsal, to teach me how to walk with Him as a 6 month old Christian. And He still uses this experience from almost 50 years ago to shape my life.

-Dean Walker