What would you do with an unexpected blessing?

There is a small prayer in I Chronicles 4:10. Jabez prays, "...bless me indeed..." We never hear exactly how God answered Jabez's prayer (only that He did), but doesn't it make you wonder what happened?

A few years ago, Dr. Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book on this prayer, "The Prayer of Jabez". Many of you have read this little devotional, where the reader is invited to ask God for the unlimited blessings He can give us.

Have you ever wondered what that would look like?

Would it be a 'yes' to a cherished desire? The first thing that frequently comes to our minds is usually material: a dream vacation, a home, financial independence. Or it may be family concerns such a desire for a child, concerns for a troubled teenager or reconciliation among estranged family members.

Such tangible things are easier for us to imagine. However, sometimes God's blessings for us are not the things we imagine. Did you ever experience a time as a child when the beautifully wrapped toy under the Christmas tree turned out to be a savings bond or some other practical item? (I'm dating myself here, aren't I?) To a child, it's kind of like getting underwear. But as adult, I realize that I was given an investment! Pretty cool, but I didn't appreciate it then.

So I wonder sometimes if I will recognize the unlimited blessings from God. Will they be what I think they will be? Or does God have a different 'package' under the tree?

One of my goals for 2009 is to strengthen my existing friendships and nurture new ones. So one of my prayers has been to bring me in the path of new aquaintainces. I've also been praying for the qualties of a good friend, to help me be a good friend.

Yesterday, God may have brought me yet another blessing in the way of a friend, but until right now, I hadn't looked at it that way.

My husband left for his afternoon round of voice lessions right as our son was getting off the bus. Ten minutes later, my husband pulled back into the driveway said, "I can't believe I'm doing this," and then opened the back door to let a little dog out of the car. Then he jumped back in the car and drove off, leaving me with a confused dog and a busload of excited children.

Now I have been asking for a dog for a while. Our son is very energetic and I thought a dog might be fun for him. But now that a dog was in my garage (fleas!), all I could think about were the practicalities: Is she lost? What can I feed her? Good heavens, she looks like a pit bull!! Where can I put her until I can get her flea dipped?!

It wasn't until lunch today that I looked at her another way. We went for a walk and sat down to rest for a minute. She curled up next to me, a calm little companion and lifted her chin so I could rub her face and neck. I realized that God had answered a friend prayer with the appearance of this dog. Not only will she keep me company without interruption while I work at home, but she will also be a work-out buddy, keeping me motivated to take daily walks. When I told my trainer I had a work-out buddy, I never pictured a dog!

So while she will never have pedicures with me or tell me what looks good on me in the dressing room, Ruby will fill a friendship role in my life for as long as she is part of our household.

What about you and the friends in your life? Are you satisfied with those relationships? Could they improve? Are you missing a "type" of friend: Do you have a cheeleader, an accountability friend, a spiritual buddy? Might it be possible God has placed that "missing" person in your life, but you haven't recognized her yet?

What baby step can you take today to reinforce an existing friendship or find an opportunity to make a new friend? Recently, many of my friends and I have connected via Facebook. Is there someone to whom you can reach out? Is there someone you've been saying, "let's get together" to, and can you make a firm date to see her? Is there a small group at church where you might get to know new people?

Who might be the unexpected blessing in your life?

Smiles and Blessings,
Sharon


P.S. Thank you to all of you who commented last week and for the prayers offered up for Kenny and his family. Please continue to bless them with your prayers as they prepare to bring him home next week! I will keep the link to his blog on the upper right of this blogsite.