When Surprising Things Come Your Way

There is a story that makes me smile about a writer, named Dorothy Parker, who was living in an apartment in New York City at the time. A friend returning from a vacation in Florida showed up on her doorstep with the unusual gifts of two baby alligators. Not knowing what to do with them and having to go to work that day, she put the two small alligators in her bathtub. When Parker returned from work that evening, she found a note from her housekeeper. The note read, “Dear Madam, I am leaving. I cannot work in a house with alligators. I would have told you this before, but I never thought the subject would come up.”
 
It is hard to anticipate everything that will come up in life, isn’t it? Some of the things that we least expect to come up, may very well do so. This raises the question, “Can we expect to be prepared for the unexpected?” Perhaps not. Usually, we are ill prepared for unlikely situations. Though no one enjoys being caught off-guard, it will happen to us all eventually. We cannot protect ourselves from the unexpected. That much you can expect.
 
The good news from the Bible is that God has promised to give us guidance when such an occasion arises. The Word of God says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
 
No matter what surprising things come your way, God will show you the way. You can count on it! You must only be willing to “acknowledge him” as Lord in all of your ways and He will guide you through the maze of the unexpected. I promise. By the way—I would have told you this before, but the subject had never come up.
 
Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron