The Unexpected

​…In this world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.   John 16:33

 When the “three little Wohlferts” were all in school full time, I went back to school and turned my Kansas secondary teaching certificate into a Michigan elementary teaching certificate. Some days have been WAY more amazing than I ever expected and other days, not what I expected at all! My first teaching partner taught me more about being a good elementary teacher during the first semester than I learned in all my years of college!  She loved her job, she was GREAT at her job and she had an amazing ability to draw the best from each student and “get the job done”.  She affectionately referred to me as “Pollyanna.”  I will admit I am like that Disney movie character because I usually live in my little bubble and always think things are going to be just fine, and just as lovely as I see them in my mind.  Sometimes life takes a turn from the way I picture it in my mind and Pollyanna gets her britches in a twist!
 
The older I get, the more I am reminded that life is about balance. If we go through life expecting things to always be happy or right or good, there will be trouble and we will get frustrated.  As I look back at the twists and turns in my life, I realize it was the times when stuff I didn’t expect landed in my lap, that I grew and changed and deepened my trust in God the most.  We tend to get a little hung-up on good stuff.  When things are good and happy we expect them to stay that way and then when the unexpected happens we can feel a little like we’ve been punished or abandoned by the Father who is supposed to love us.  As a society, we can be pretty “all or nothing” in our thinking.  We forget that nothing is meant to be permanent…not happiness and certainly not sorrow.  God works through both the good times and the tough times.  We can be assured of His blessings and His love always! He did not SUGGEST there MIGHT be trouble.  He didn’t say PERHAPS on the 3rd Thursday of July there is a CHANCE you will have trouble…no…He flat out promised that trouble WILL HAPPEN.  So why are we so puzzled and pouty when it does?  I think it’s mostly because we weren’t expecting it.
 
Each time I come through troubles, I feel stronger and more peaceful. The greatest thing trouble does for me is make me realize compared to most other folks…I’ve got NOTHIN!  It makes me realize I have so much to be thankful for and so many reasons to praise His Holy Name!  I read a little slogan on a billboard not long ago that fits perfectly.  The sign said, DON’T LET YOUR TROUBLES GET YOU DOWN, REMEMBER YOU CAN’T USE AN EGG UNLESS IT’S BROKEN.  Maybe it’s the Pollyanna in me, but I believe even in my biggest troubles, I can look back and truly see the hand of God guiding and protecting me.  Nothing is without reason…and we may not always like the reason but it is exactly in those situations I just have to sigh, shrug my shoulders and say…this must be something I need for heaven!  Life is full of things I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect to move to Michigan, I didn’t expect to teach elementary school and I certainly didn’t expect to be a writer!  I wasn’t expecting to get grey hair, have nine pairs of reading glasses and have every dessert I ate show up on my hips!  However in each of those unexpected events, there have been great blessings.  The thing we forget…we are not going to be judged on what we expected, but rather on how we managed the unexpected.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Look back on two of your biggest troubles.  Write down the blessings you can identify as a result of those troubles; how did you grow, change or deepen your Faith.
 
Blessings on your day!