My sister, Martha, an elementary school principal in Florida, was coming to visit us for a much-needed time of rest and refreshing. An Alice-in-Wonderland, demanding year of managing a school in the midst of COVID had taken its toll. As I anticipated our time together, I pondered a way that I could really bless my sister. Then, I had a scathingly brilliant idea! I would fly her three teenage grandchildren here for a portion of her visit.
Martha’s grandchildren, Sarah, Brittany and Josh are a delight to be around and have brought such joy to Jerry and me on previous visits. Martha absolutely adores her grandchildren, but with her and their challenging schedules, she doesn’t get as much time with them as she would like. Sarah, Brittany and Josh were all in for the vacation surprise. Tickets were purchased, transportation to the airport arranged and all parties were sworn to secrecy.
The hardest part was keeping the secret. Martha knows our home is open for guests as we love people. Martha asked if during her vacation we could invite her friend who had moved to NC to my home or travel to see her. I hesitated. We already had a short sister trip to the beach planned during that time and the grandchildren would arrive the day we returned. So, I said, “Maybe we could do that, but let’s look at the schedule when you arrive.” Martha heard the hesitancy in my voice, an uncharacteristic response for me.
When she arrived, she asked if I had arranged for my niece, Jenni, who had recently moved to NC to visit during her stay. Wanting to keep the surprise, I had planned to invite Jenni and her teenage son to visit with Martha and her teenage grandchildren. However, hoping to keep it off social media, I was waiting to do so. When I told Martha that I was planning to invite Jenni, but hadn’t yet, she seemed puzzled. Again, she knows I love family and this was also out of character for me.
The day we were leaving to return home from our sister trip at the beach, she was confused again by my out-of-character behavior. We found out that the next guests were not arriving for two days and we could have an extra day at the beach. The weather was gorgeous. I said we needed to get home. However, afraid we would arrive before her grandkids got there, I said we would have breakfast and do a tour of the Charleston Battery on the way back. Martha wondered to herself, “If Jenni has time for a day in Charleston, why couldn’t we stay another day at the beach?”
When Martha walked in the house and saw her three grandchildren waiting for her, she was overcome with joy! My heart sang as I knew I had given her the best gift ever. Later, as we talked about how it was all arranged and kept secret, she would look at me, smile, and say, “So that was why you…”. She had a whole new perspective on my confusing actions of the past month.
As I was preparing this surprise for my sister, I knew that there were times she could not understand why I was saying or doing something that seemed so out of character for me. That was hard for me. But I knew that once she discovered the reason, she would be delighted.
During this time, I would often think of my Heavenly Father. At times, my limited understanding causes me to question His character and the things He allows in my life. This realization prompted me to ask God to forgive me for not fully trusting that His intentions towards me are always good. Hebrews 11:6 declares, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those that earnestly seek Him.”
God exists. He declares, I AM and tells us in His Word who He is…holy, righteous, loving, just, merciful, gracious, Savior, Deliverer, Almighty, all-knowing, always present, forgiving, slow to anger, good, kind, patient, compassionate, faithful, trustworthy and so much more!
We don’t know all the surprises and delights God has in store for us, but we do know we have a SURE PRIZE in store for us. God will reward those who earnestly seek Him. Jesus confirms this in John when He tells us to not let our hearts be troubled as He is preparing a place for us to be with Him, a SURE PRIZE, a promise from God of His eternal goodness and loving plan for us. Jesus also promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. NEVER!
Our lives can hold moments of confusion, challenge, heartache, grief and sorrow. There are things that happen to us or our loved ones that we may never understand from our limited perspective. However, we can find peace by remembering that God does exist and that His purposes and plans for us are good, always.
I am looking forward to seeing each of you at our SURE PRIZE party in heaven!
