Surprise!

“And God is able to bless you abundantly” (II Corinthians 9:8)

I had just spent the weekend speaking at a retreat just north of Philadelphia.  Not only did I make some new friends, but I had the privilege of spending time with a very dear friend.  The only thing missing that weekend was the Liberty Bell.  I had really hoped that while I was in Philadelphia I would have time to go see the Liberty Bell.  However, it looked like that plan was not going to happen, for my flight home left early on Sunday morning.  I boarded my plane and sat down in my window seat.  When the plane took off, we made a very sharp bank to the left.  So sharp in fact, that at first I wondered if something was wrong.  So, I looked out my window down below, and there it was!  If I could have opened my window and reached out, I could have almost touched the Liberty Bell.  It was right there in plain sight.  It seemed we were only a few feet above it.  What a pleasant surprise God had given me!

I think perhaps sometimes in the middle of our difficult stressed-out lives, coupled with the trials in the world, we forget that our God delights to pour out blessings and surprises on us.  Image the day Moses was out in the wilderness doing what he had always done – tending sheep.  When suddenly he saw a bush burning that was not consumed.  His curiosity got the best of him, so he approached the bush.  At that point, the voice of God spoke to Moses and gave him an order that changed his life from shepherding to becoming the Hebrew prophet and deliver of the people.  What a surprise that must have been for Moses!  Or think of the lame man who most likely crawled to the Pool of Bethesda one morning, only to have an encounter with the Lord who was waiting for him by the waters.  The Lord healed the man, and he walked home carrying his mat in his arms.  Or imagine the surprise Peter was in for when he went out in his boat one night to catch fish.  After a wasted night on the water, back at shore he had an encounter with the Lord and ended up catching the souls of men.    

Surprises!  Our God is full of them.  I wonder how many surprises large or small that God places in our lives in a single day.  Some of them we see, yet perhaps some of them we miss because we’re not looking in the right places, or we’re too busy focusing on ourselves – our problems, our difficulties, our cares.  Or maybe we miss surprises because we’re only grateful for the big ones but push the small ones out of our way.  Little things like what others do for us or the special words someone gives us, or simply the blessing of waking up each morning and looking for God’s hand through our day. 

Surprises!  They are everywhere, sprinkled throughout the 24 hours God gives us.  Some of them walk right up to us, some of them sneak up on us.  And some of them come to us when we bank to the left.   

                                                               Darlene