God's Perfect Mistake and The Blue Rose

I have two good pieces today and could not decide between them so here are both items. Enjoy.

My mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to orphanages in China . On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China !

The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. 'It's not fair,' he told God as he drove home in frustration. 'I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this.'

Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the United States . He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China , so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church in Chicago .

The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. 'But most of all,' he said, 'I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this.

Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top.

The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: 'Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that.'

The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.

But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.

There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking him!

I have to remember this in these times of trial with my own family.

May GOD bless your week. Look for the perfect mistakes.

'People are like tea bags- - you have to put them in hot water before you know how strong they are.'

Now isn't that just like God to do something like that?

Peace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is the presence of God.

'The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.' Lamentations 3:22

Thank You O. Campbell for this one.

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Blue Roses by Pastor Hal Steenson

It was time for me to do my 'Dollar Store' run, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags and Clorox. So off I go. I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies, and headed for the checkout counter only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man that appeared to be about sixteen years old.

I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, 'Mommy, I'm over here.' It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged, and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His
eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said, 'Hey Buddy, what's your name?'

'My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother,' he responded proudly.

'Wow,' I said, 'that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but m y name is Hal.'

'Hal like Halloween?' he asked.

'Yes,' I answered. 'How old are you Denny?

'How old am I now Mommy?' he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle. 'You're fifteen years old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by.'

I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement because he was the center of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.

Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him. I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow and pink roses in God's garden, however, 'Blue Roses' are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a 'Blue Rose' and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God.

She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, 'Who are you?'

Without thinking I said, 'Oh, I'm probably just a 'daffodil or maybe even a dandelion,' but I sure love living in God's garden.

Please the next time you see a BLUE ROSE don't turn your head and walk off, take the time to smile and say Hello. Because by the grace of GOD this mother could be you. This could be your child, grandchild, niece, nephew. What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family.

From another old daffodil