Surprise Gifts

Don’t you love little surprises?
The little things that are really quite ordinary and happen at random times.
Silly things that make us smile.
Things that make me think that God has a sense of humor.

I was putting a coupon in a pocket in the back of my wallet.
Something was already there.
Two twenty dollar bills were hiding.
I have no idea how long they were there.

Thank you, Father God! I said out loud.

I remember driving in a parking lot with all five of my children when they were young.
The older ones were fine no matter where we parked.
The younger ones, especially the littlest one, would do better if we got a bit closer.
All the parking spaces were filled.

I knew that I would have to carry the youngest and hold the hand of her brother.
I prayed for a parking space.
I remember the first time I did that and wondered if that kind of prayer was heard by God.
All kinds of prayers are heard by God.

I loved the times when a parking space became available.
It was such a clear lesson for my children.
God cares about the little details of our lives.
We can pray to Him for even the seemingly insignificant things.

Thank you, Lord! I said so my children could hear me.

I do not know why we struggle with what we call the “little” prayers.
They are not little to God.
God the Father loves when His children talk to Him.
Like any good Father, God listens to us, though He may not always answer the way we hope.

The parking space may never be available.
The found money may never be hiding in the back pocket of a wallet.
Answers that differ from what we expect or hope does not mean that God did not hear us.
Answers that never seem to come does not mean that God has forgotten us.

I wanted to get a pair of jeans that were on sale.
I got a coupon in the mail with a pull off label that told me the percentage of my discount.
I was very excited when I saw that my coupon was for 30% off.
I tucked the coupon in my wallet and decided that I would go to the store the next day.

I found the jeans, at a great sale price so I decided to buy two pairs.
This store allows you to use multiple offers at the registers.
I knew that I could use my 30% off coupon on top of the sale price.
I did the math and was very pleased with the amount.

As I looked at my coupon, I saw that the offer started the next day.
I decided that I would go to the customer service desk and ask them to hold my jeans until then.
The woman behind the counter said, I can do it today but I can’t give cash.
I did not understand since I only wanted her to hold the jeans for me.

I can honor the coupon a day early, but you can’t get the store cash, she said.
Now I understood that she meant the store’s cash that is redeemed at a later date.
That’s OK, I said to her; my store cash always expires because I forget it is in my wallet.
All I wanted you to do was hold the jeans for me; thank you so much for doing this, I told her.

As I handed her the jeans at the customer service register, I got out my credit card.
Tucked in the back pocket of my wallet was some of the store’s cash from another time.
I pulled it out.
See what I mean, I always forget I have this, I said as if on cue.

Hand it over, she said with her hand extended and a big smile.
I even got an email today about a small rewards amount that I received, I admitted.
Do you have the email on your phone? She asked.
I was almost embarrassed to say that I did.

Make the bar code bigger, she told me as the red line of her scanner went over the bars.
Another five dollars off, she said, almost as pleased as I was at the entire transaction.
Well, you actually got one pair of jeans free, she said.
She showed me my receipt and circled my savings, which was very significant.

Thank you so much for doing this, I said to her.
She went over and above what I asked of her.
I walked away with my two pairs of jeans in a bag.
Thank you, Lord! I said and thought back to parking lot prayers.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)

We have glorious riches if we are in Christ.
Those riches are not hidden until another time when we happen to find them.
Those riches are given to us the moment we come to Jesus in faith for our salvation.
Those riches are God’s grace, redemption through the blood of Jesus, and forgiveness of our sins.

God’s gifts should not surprise us, since they are written in His Word.
However, the surprise is that God would choose to save any of us and give us His gifts.
We, who so often sin and fall short, have been lavished with the gifts of God because of Jesus.
In Christ, there is no surprise, just rejoicing and thanksgiving.

 

2 responses to “Surprise Gifts”

1. I just love the surprises of life, and since God is the author of all things, He should be thanked when good surprises happen. Yesterday I was in a store and found a gift card in my wallet. I thought I had used it and had only a little “credit” left. To my surprise, the card was worth $20! Thank You, Lord!

   Reply

   • Sue,
     What a blessing! Such a nice surprise for you. It is right and good to thank God for the little things!
     Gina

     Reply