The Perfect Mistake

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 really 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 co-workers and I were much in prayer about this.

Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a

pair of glasses wedged between two blankets.

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! Perhaps it is

something we ought to try more often, "Thank you, God, for not allowing my

car to start this morning." He may have been saving your life from a car

accident. "Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me lose my glasses. I'm sure

they'll be put to good use or there is a lesson to be learned."

Always look for the perfect mistakes.

--Unknown