| A Perfect Mistake |
My Mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this
particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes
his church was sending to orphanages in China.
On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find
his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally
replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had
happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket
unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had
nailed shut.
His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had
six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very
morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy
another pair. "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home
in frustration. "I've been very faithful in giving of my time
and money to your work, and now this."
Months later, the director of the orphanage was on
furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the
churches that supported him in China, so he came to
speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church in
Chicago.
The missionary began by thanking the people for their
faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all,"
he said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last
year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the
orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I
was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply
no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being
able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my
coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then
your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers,
they found a pair of glasses lying on top. The missionary
paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still
gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks,
when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been
custom made just for me! I want to thank you for being a
part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But
the missionary surely must have confused their church
with another, they thought. There were no glasses on
their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in
the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary
carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in
an extraordinary way. There are times we want to blame
God instead of thanking him!
particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes
his church was sending to orphanages in China.
On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find
his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally
replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had
happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket
unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had
nailed shut.
His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had
six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very
morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy
another pair. "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home
in frustration. "I've been very faithful in giving of my time
and money to your work, and now this."
Months later, the director of the orphanage was on
furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the
churches that supported him in China, so he came to
speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church in
Chicago.
The missionary began by thanking the people for their
faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all,"
he said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last
year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the
orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I
was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply
no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being
able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my
coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then
your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers,
they found a pair of glasses lying on top. The missionary
paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still
gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks,
when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been
custom made just for me! I want to thank you for being a
part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But
the missionary surely must have confused their church
with another, they thought. There were no glasses on
their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in
the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary
carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in
an extraordinary way. There are times we want to blame
God instead of thanking him!
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