May 23

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.  Ephesians 1:11-12, The Message.

It was unexpected.  But, then, many blessings come that way.

My daughter and I spent Mother’s Day shopping at the mall – a rare and fun treat for us.  We were paying for our purchases at one of the stores when my daughter thanked the man who was our clerk for working on Mother’s Day.  He chuckled and offered that having him out of the house for the day was the real gift for his wife. He went on to say that his wife was home celebrating with their four children.  The man and his wife were so blessed, he said, because they had not been able to have children of their own.  His wife had suffered four miscarriages so they had decided to adopt four special needs children, the oldest now in college and the youngest being 14.

 Maybe it was the way he said it. Maybe you had to be there.  But the obvious love of this man for his family touched our hearts.  As my daughter and I rummaged in our purses for tissues, we apologized to the man for our tears and thanked him for blessing us with his story.  Then the three of us dissolved into laughter at what the people behind us must think of the two women crying in the checkout line over a purchase of baby clothes.

Dear Father,

Thank you for the joy of unexpected blessings. Help me to know that you are ordering the steps of my life and have a plan for me.  I need to trust you - especially when things don’t go my way.  Open my heart to you so that I may know the glorious life that you have planned for me.  Amen.