A Welcomed Inconvenience

I decided to go swimming one day only to find a small lizard dead on the steps of the pool. He must have drowned, and I immediately thought of the inconvenience its death was about to cause me. I attempted to scoop the creature out with a net, yet I kept pushing him it into a position that made it more difficult to reach him. I was not about to pick him up and yes, I’m afraid of lizards, dead or alive, and I sure wasn’t going swimming with one! My sons weren’t at home and I could hear them repeating the scripture that God has not given me the spirit of fear...the scripture I so often share with them (smile). Anyway, their little voices did not convince me to remove the lizard, so the spirit of fear and I went back into the house while I selfishly prayed, “Lord, I love you and you said ALL things work together for good, so what is the purpose of this dead lizard keeping me from going swimming?” As soon as I walked in the house, the dead lizard became a blessing. The smell of cabbage met me before I opened the door; I left it warming on the stove. I intended to eat it before I went swimming, yet completely forgot about it. I would have been in the pool for at least an hour…needless to say; a series of unfortunate events could have occurred had it not been for the dead lizard. As I sat eating my cabbage, I heard laughter outside my front door and looked out the window. My neighbor’s son was walking into their house draped in a contraption that covered his entire upper body. I immediately went into the kitchen to bake him something. I took warm brownies over and found out he had been assaulted and broke his neck! My goodness, if things had gone as I planned, I would have missed out on my blessing and also blessing someone else. Sitting in traffic, long red lights, unexpected phone calls, misplaced car keys, and boo-boo diapers right when it’s time to walk out the door can all be inconveniences, yet when we realize God is in control of our lives and our time, these inconveniences suddenly become welcomed blessings!