Sunday, December 4, 2011

Giving Thanks for Unexpected Gifts

So here's my Sunday School lesson, except that I got it on Saturday:

Maribeth and Matheiu have been on a cruise (Disney, of course). While they were gone, it seemed like it was the best time to have the floors in their house stripped and re-stained. Of course, that meant that all the furniture had to be moved to the part of the house that doesn't have the icky floors in question. This included moving the bed, which happened to be a Sleep Number bed, which doesn't have your everyday mattress and box springs. Basically, the mattress is two air mattresses and the box spring is a bunch of over-sized Lego's that you put together (however it sounds, mine has given me the best nights of sleep ever).

Anyhow, after M/M left for the cruise, Sam and I managed to take apart the bed and shove the two parts of the bed into the bathroom and kitchen. The floors got refinished and yesterday morning I went over to meet Carpenter Bill who is doing the remodeling of the house and the painters who are going to paint the inside. C-Bill offered to help me re-assemble the bed in M/M's bedroom, which we did. We both left and I went to purchase a few supplies, including a temp shade for their bedroom, since all the curtains/rods were down for the impeding painting.

I stood on the bed to put up the aforementioned shade, and some of the Lego box spring decided to unattach. I surveyed the damage, and decided that the three puny slats that were holding up the box spring were insufficient, and I would replace them - in the three hours before M/M would be back in Nashville.

I pushed the two parts of the bed up and leaned them on the wall so I could get one of the inferior bed slats for measurement for my Home Depot bed slat run. I brought it home, measured it, and saw that it was about 5 feet. I go to Home Depot and look at the lumber. I see 1x6 pieces, remember that I measured 5 feet and think, "Perfect! Six feet is the exact length I need!" Don't ask me why I thought 5 feet and 6 feet are the same measurement. It was just one of those moments that seemed to make sense.

Of course, when I got back to M/M's, I realized my mistake and that I was going to have to cut the boards. This meant returning to my house and getting my jigsaw and coming back. I was now down to two hours before return, and I still hadn't been to the grocery store to get milk and bread.

Upon my return to my house, Sam was about to arrive with lunch for Lynnette and me. I had a lunch break and said to Lynnette that I was about to leave to cut the boards and reassemble the bed. Here's where the God part comes in. Just as I was getting up to find my jigsaw, my phone rings and it's Carpenter Bill. He says, "Luanne, did you put these wooden boards in here?" I affirmed the news and told him of the predicament. To make this long story short, he cut the planks precisely to the bed and help me reassemble the entire thing. Not only was the bed fixed, but it was fixed far beyond my feeble attempts could make it.

So what's the lesson here? That if we will just realize it, God is a part of our every day lives. He knows what we need and when we need it. He hears us when we pray and even when we don't. Sometimes we don't get the answer we think we want, and sometimes we get an answer that we didn't even ask for. We just need to stop and realize that there is something greater than us in this world, and that we are loved far more than we can ever fathom. We just need to recognize it and give thanks for it.

After all, why else would Carpenter Bill be at the house on a Saturday afternoon after he had already left? Why would he even bother to ask about the boards and then take the time to cut them to exactly the perfect length? Why? Because Somebody knew I needed help and provided it for me.

Thank you God, for looking after me every moment of my life. But most of all, thank for all the gifts and blessings you give, especially the unexpected ones.

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Today's blessings: Lindley time; brunch with Lynnette, Maribeth, Mathieu, and Molly; Maribeth and Mathieu's official announcement that it's a girl!

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