Every Opportunity

"It's so easy to get stuck and hung up on the inconveniences that disrupt 

our plans. But if God's plan has a higher purpose than mine, 

I have to trust that He is seeing something that I can't."

Yesterday we had a family situation arise that we weren't anticipating. My husband who was only supposed to work until 3:30 PM ended up staying until 9:30 PM. This was considerably made worse by the fact that he went in at 6:00 AM. Needless to say, no one in our little family of four, five if you count the ball of fur sleeping at the end of the table, was happy. When I explained to my son what happened and why daddy wouldn't be home, he graciously repeated it to his sister for me because I was already upset.

And then the miracle came. My son looked at me and said, "I think we need to pray. Like right now." I thought my momma heart was going to burst right then and there.

So we did. We prayed for the people who made decisions that caused this to happen. We prayed for my husband to find purpose in why he was still there. We prayed for God's peace to flood him so that he would still be a light despite his frustration. We prayed for so many things that I think we covered every possible base. And then I emailed my husband to let him know and I'm pretty sure it made his heart happy to know what we had done.

I don't know what the specific purpose was in him working all day. But I do know this:

It encouraged people on facebook when I shared it there.
It encouraged the people who have had a major influence in my life, challenging me as a wife and mother because I sent them an email letting them know what happened.
It gave me an opporutnity to feel the love of some sweet friends that reached out to make sure I was okay and who agreed to pray also.
It gave us an opporutnity to see our son's heart burst with compassion.
It gave me a post to share with you to remind you that nothing is without purpose.

And while that list will continue to grow, God alone knows the exact reason and what He was working out in our lives through this.

It's so easy to get stuck and hung up on the inconveniences that disrupt our plans. But if God's plan has a higher purpose than mine, I have to trust that He is seeing something that I can't. And even though I'm still a bit sad we didn't get to have dinner together as a family, I do know that I am more grateful for the evidence of His love through an imperfect situation.

Lord, I seriously don't get how you can be so creative and intentional about making Your perfect love evident, even in the most unwelcomed of circumstances. But somehow, someway, you manage to do this all the time. I praise You for the opportunity You have given us to be witnesses of Your involvment in even the smallest of details, and the ability to see Your hands and feet in others. I pray that whatever Your purpose was in this, that we did our part well. We love you. Amen.