| 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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