Unexpected Blessings
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a couple deep breaths, and allow yourself to be present in this moment.
Imagine driving down a dark, twisting road, when suddenly that road brings you to familiar scenery, and you realize it was guiding you home all along.
When we lose blessings, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.
C. S. Lewis
Watch with glittering eyes the whole world because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
Roald Dahl
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Food for Thought
I have found that some of life’s greatest blessings are often unexpected - a wild, unforeseen curve in the road that leads us to deep joy. To me, these moments that take you in a completely different direction than what you intended open us to see God’s presence with us in the everyday happenings of our lives. This principle rings no truer to me than when I think of how I met my wife.
When my wife, Jane, was 18-yrs-old, her father decided to move the family from their home in California back to his roots in Missouri to start a business of his own. Jane was enrolled to begin college, but she instead decided to go with her family to see what was ahead. They loaded up their lives and headed to her grandparents’ home about 6 hours away to say goodbye.
When they arrived, Jane’s dad heard about a trade show nearby and decided to attend. My father-in-law was a well-known horticulturist in the area. He had written a book, as well as articles for trade journals, and had been a superintendent of a famous botanical garden in California. While networking for his new business venture, he met the president of a company that published horticultural materials and was offered an opportunity to come to Michigan and write for them. Within a day, the decision to change course from Missouri to Michigan brought great excitement - the family was all in!
At this time, I was a college senior at Western Michigan University. I had not been to church for over a year and felt disconnected from my faith. While at home for a long weekend, my brother could sense my discontent and encouraged me to get back into church. My first week back to school, I decided to follow my brother’s advice. As I sat in the back row that Sunday, I watched as a family arrived late to the chapel. I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful girl with long blond hair. I wasted no time! I sat next to her in Sunday School and found out it was her family’s first Sunday attending, having just moved in from California. I asked her out, and three weeks later, we were engaged!
When I think of the serendipitous way my wife and I met, I’m reminded that unexpected blessings are happening around us all the time - we just have to be open to them. Forty-four years of marriage later, I still think of the turn of events that brought my wife and me together, events that never would have happened without the willingness of open hearts: my father-in-law being in the right place at the right time and his willingness to change direction, my brother’s advice and my willingness to heed it, and my wife’s willingness to change course and go with her family on their new adventure.
But keeping our hearts open can be tough! It’s easy to get bogged down by the busyness of life. In our day-to-day tasks, we can get so caught up in our worries that they can shut us down, closing our hearts to the possibilities and wonder that God has in store for us.
May we instead be open to the unexpected ways God is constantly at work behind the scenes, gently guiding our steps and lighting the way, often toward roads we never would have taken on our own. May our hearts be open to the way God is weaving the beautiful tapestries of our lives so as to bring us to one another.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that celebrates love in all its forms. How could you be an unexpected blessing to someone else? In these winter months, what person, family, or organization may need your love and support?
Today especially, spread love by delivering notes of gratitude or homemade valentines to your friends and neighbors. Don’t be afraid to bust out the crayons and construction paper, and get creative!
Blessing
Loving God,
Thank you for the gift of unexpected blessings. Help us be open to new possibilities and to lean into unforeseen curves in the road, knowing that you will be there to guide us toward greater blessings than we could have ever imagined for ourselves.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Share a time you experienced an unexpected blessing.
Has there ever been a time you expected a blessing that never came, or at least not in the way you anticipated?
How did you recognize God in those moments?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask the kiddos to share about a time when they surprised someone with a thoughtful gift or note.
Then ask them to tell you about the recipient’s reaction and how the unexpected gift made them feel.
Enlist your kid’s help in making those homemade valentines. Their creative touch will make the cards that much more special!
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
John Pacific grew up in Michigan and has lived in the Lexington, NC area for the last 29 years. He and his wife, Jane, have 4 wonderful children and 9 grandchildren. John has worked with Helping Hands (Disaster Relief) in affected areas of North Carolina, and has served as a Gospel Teacher with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He loves to swim and play golf, and he is known by his grandchildren to be a great storyteller.
To hear more from John throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
If you have a story that you would like to be included as a Reader's Write feature, we would love for you to send it our way! You can email us directly at thewelcometableco@gmail.com.
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!