Unexpected Surprises

Don't you just love surprises?

It could be an unexpected win on someone's blog giveaway, a random "just because" gift from your spouse, or kids, or even a handwritten card or letter?

How does that make you feel when they come unexpectedly?

I know for me, it instantly brings a smile because I know that someone went out of their way to consider me. They really thought about making me happy with their gift of a surprise!

Well when was the last time you were surprised with something like this? A recent holiday? Mother's Day? Valentines' Day, Christmas, your birthday?

Now let me pose another kind of question. How did it make you feel when you discovered the surprise before it was given to you?

Maybe someone let the "cat out of the bag"? Or you happened upon it hiding in the closet, the trunk of the car, or even found the receipt?

Sure you were excited in your alone moment of self discovery but now you had to fake it in front of the person who would give you the gift later.

I remember discovering this hard fact of life when I was a child at Christmas. Of all the things on my Christmas list that year, my parents did a great job of trying to convince me I may not get what I wanted.

Yet one afternoon while they were both at work, I was looking for something in my parents closet, and happened to come across a bag filled with all the items on my Christmas list that year buried at the far end of their closet. Oh the joy I was filled with at that moment, knowing without a doubt I was going to get what I asked for.

Yet that morning I discovered the tell-tale handwriting on those presents from Santa were actually my parents when I unwrapped the presents I found in the closet. Sure I was happy because now I got to play with those gifts that were at one time hidden in the closet, but I also discovered the truth to the lie that Santa wasn't real any longer. The magic of Christmas was now gone.

I was sitting at home last night thinking about how difficult its been for me to reconnect with God over the last couple of days. Perhaps it was the allergies that kept me from visiting my blogging friends and missing out on comments that just aren't coming any longer, or perhaps I came to the conclusion that no matter how hard you try, people just don't understand what your expectations are of them. So you get discouraged.

Take for example our current situation. Here is is 3 weeks out and still no sign of a job in site for Steve. Yes, we are collecting unemployment but the first 7 days of your job loss you get no money and the state pays for 2 weeks only , three week later. So our first check arrived last week for one week. We won't see our next one until the first week of July.

It's hard sometimes to see what the future holds in store for us. So yesterday I became a bit discouraged of seeing all our money going out and really nothing coming back in. Steve isn't sleeping much and it's hard to keep a sunshine outlook on life when nothing seems to change.

So last night, I prayed to God after he showed me this post I am typing right now. That all prayer is answered.

Sure we know the answers, "Yes!", "No!" and the one we all hate is "Wait!"

Yet the wait will eventually become a Yes or a No.

Then God revealed the Christmas present idea and told me that if He allowed me to glimpse that job that is waiting for Steve, I would be so happy for it now but would soon lose the luster it would have to get a much awaited phone call saying the job is offered, or an interview scheduled.

God is waiting for the perfect time to surprise us both.

And you know what, God's presents are truly worth waiting for. SO wait patiently on God.

Don't give up hope, because the best kind of prize is a Surprise, from our heavenly Father!