A PERFECT MISTAKE


My mother's father worked as a carpenter. One day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage 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 that the glasses had slipped out of his pocket and had 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 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 my time and
money to your work, and now this."

Several 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 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 coworkers and I were much in prayer about this.  Then your crates arrived.  When my staff removed the contents, they found a pair of glasses." 

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.

Anonymous Internet Message


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