Unexpected Treasures (07/31/2024)

I was on a trip with my older sister, Betty. I’d taken her to see our father’s property outside Holbrook, Arizona. Then we did some sightseeing around the Grand Canyon. That night we were in Flagstaff. After walking next door from our hotel to a restaurant, we came back to the hotel and decided to sit out in the garden area for a while. As we sat, a woman came and sat nearby. And we spoke to her. Such a small outreach brought such an unexpected treasure.

Her name is Marcia. We asked about her presence at the hotel. Was she on vacation? Was she passing through. And she shared that she was there because her brother had passed away. And then we shared openly and honestly for hours in that hotel garden. We learned about her, and she learned about us. We laughed. We cried. We wrestled with life’s deep questions. We kept watch together. And we realized that our meeting and our conversation was divine providence. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers.

That was May of 2017.  Today is her birthday. I texted her wishes this morning from my porch. She was on my mind and in my prayers. Our relationship since that night in Flagstaff has grown intentionally. We write back and forth. We text at times. We’ve spoken on the phone. We both realize, I believe, the gift we were given that night in a hotel garden thousands of miles from our homes.

I mentioned that we both believe that our meeting was divine providence. I am a huge believer in divine providence because of experience. So many, many times in my life I have found myself somewhere and being there mattered. What will we make of treasures the LORD puts in our paths? Will we notice them? Will we claim them? Will we treasure them?

My family gets onto me all the time. They laugh because they know I speak to people I don’t know all the time. But my friend, Marcia, would not be my friend today if I hadn’t spoken. Today, as I recall finding such an unexpected treasure, I give thanks. And I ask the LORD to keep me open to the wonders of unexpected treasures He will plant in my path.

As we journey, let us keep in mind that the LORD offers us great treasures along the way but whether we claim them or not is up to us. Let us be sojourners who are aware of others around us and open to them. And may we embrace the unexpected treasures that providentially occur.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.