SURPRISE

I am not a fan of surprises.  For some reason, they do not always turn out quite right.

Surprise Party:  Really?  Do people enjoy them?  Maybe the person planning it.  The person walking into a surprise party, usually, either has found out and has to act surprised or has had the worst day ever and has to act excited. 

The Gift:  “Honey, I knew you wanted a __fill in the blank__, so I bought you one.”  Let’s be honest here.  “Honey” (that can be male or female) was not hinting for you to get the __fill in the blank__, they were warning you they were going to buy it.  And I can guarantee, what you buy will not be exactly what they wanted.  (This does not apply to birthday or Christmas gifts.  Those gifts need to be something that has been hinted for.  Those subtle hints when walking through a store.  Almost a whisper or sigh.)

Breakfast in Bed:  How sweet!  You are being served breakfast in bed.  What a wonderful surprise.  Advice to the children and men that prepared this breakfast:  Clean the kitchen after making this surprise breakfast or the person that ate the breakfast will give you a surprise.  (Usually this involves a banging of pans as they clean up your mess and the silent treatment as you try to figure out what went wrong.)

You Won a Car/Vacation/House:  Oh my gosh!!  How great would that be?  A car just appears in your driveway!  The tickets arrive in the mail!  Your dream home ready to move into!  Warning:  There will be taxes due.

We are surprised when we like a new food or discover a new back road.  A new author can surprise us with the ending of a really suspenseful book.  And our family never fails to surprise us, but I am not going there. 

Life is full of surprises.  Some are unexpected.  Some are wonderful.  Some break our hearts. 

Faith can surprise us.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith can teach us to trust when we doubt.

Faith can make us strong when we feel weak.

Faith can give us hope when we do not see a way out.

Faith gives us the assurance that God’s love is constant.

Faith gives us the confidence to believe the Word of God.

Yup.  Life is full of surprises.  Some are unexpected.  Some are wonderful.  Some break our hearts.  And our faith makes it possible for us to survive all of them.