God's Funny Like That

This Saturday morning God showed me something pretty special. No matter what the circumstances, He is always able to work things out for His good.

About a month ago I started making arrangements for our annual sno cone giveaway at the parade. I wanted to improve the experience and spoke with a new business that was started out of the Cookie Company called "Paradice." I offered our spot and idea with us paying the bill to make the sno cones free. The owner was receptive to the idea and I waited to hear back. But after a couple of weeks, I decided to move forward with the way we have always done it.

To my surprise, the new company along with a baseball team had already made arrangements and in our spot! The owner didn't realize that it was our spot and was sorry, but now I had a new problem. What were we going to do at the parade? Frustrated, I went for a drive and started praying. Then, out of no where, I thought - balloons. So, I ordered balloons with "I love Millard" and our website. Then, the owner of the cookie company offered us free cookies to hand out as well. I had a good conversation with her and felt it was the best thing to accept her gracious invitation.

Then came the parade. The owner of Paradice set up a tent and had the cookies ready. She helped us get things ready and we had a great time of conversation. Unfortunately for her, there was another sno cone stand set up a few feet away. I realized, maybe God wanted us to do something new, and needed to get our attention. After a couple hours of blowing up balloon after balloon, I looked down Millard Ave and was amazed to see our balloons lining the street. You couldn't miss them if you wanted to. Even the volunteers noticed how much better the balloons turned out.

Its amazing how God works things out. Just when you think things have turned out for the worst, He surpises us. God's funny like that.

Reciprocation

After returning from a week in Indy, I was surprised to find that my lawn wasn't all that tall. I knew that we had received 2-3 inches of rain and my sprinklers had been running. Once I examined the lawn a little closer I realized that our neighbors had mowed our lawn with their push mower. The smaller tracks were a dead giveaway.

A day later I saw the two teenage boys playing basketball and stopped to confirm. With a big smile, they said, "yes we did." I told them thanks and asked them how it was (pushing it since I have a rider). For two young, growing boys, it was a breeze.

As I drove away, I realized that something pretty cool had happened. Reciprocation. The week before, our neighbors were gone and we took care of their cat (real hard) and picked up their mail. When I mowed my lawn before they returned, I trimmed theirs, as the sidewalk around their house needed attention.

I didn't expect anything when I did it, as I have done it before. But it was nice to see my act of kindness returned. Its contagious, this kindness thing. And now, I need to pass it on.