Psalm 102:13 – You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem — and now is the time to pity her, now is the time you promised to help. (NLT)

The unexpected blessing came from … well … an unexpected place.

"___________ said he would help you move some stuff," the email from the guidance counsellor stated.

The student's name stuck in my mind like a fly to flypaper. I had taught him middle-school grammar for two years and eighth-grade computer for one year. I bet he had not spoken twenty words to me in three years. I never felt that he liked me too much as a teacher. I can't ever remember receiving a card or gift from him during teacher appreciation week.

Presently, I saw him daily as he sat in his high school Spanish class, which was next to the computer lab where I taught. He never spoke when he passed me in the hall unless I spoke to him first. That wasn't easy to do since he never made eye contact with me. This was the student who said that he'd help me move some outdoor furniture.

My wife and I were in the middle of moving from a patio townhome to a house. I knew that we couldn't get all our stuff on the truck that the movers were using, especially our landscaping rocks and outdoor patio furniture. So, I asked the guidance counsellor to put the word out to students who needed service hours or who just might want to help, out of the kindness of their hearts.

But of all the students I might have imagined answering my plea for help, this student wasn't one of them. Sure enough, he approached me in the lunchroom one morning and said that he'd get with me one day the following week, which he did. At the specified time, he showed up, loaded his truck with the items, took them to my new residence, and placed them where I told him. He was polite, we talked, and I thanked him generously.

The following week at school, it was back to business as usual. He never made eye contact or spoke unless I spoke to him first. I suppose that he's just shy, but he was an unexpected blessing.

God's people probably didn't expect God's blessings either, especially since they had such a pattern of rebellion. Yet, God blessed them anyway.

God does the same for us, but He also sends others as His channels to bless us — like my student. When the blessings come, we should express our appreciation and look for an opportunity to channel our good fortune to someone else — pass it on, as the old song says. For example, He is "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3b-4 NIV)

How can you be an unexpected blessing to someone?

Prayer: Father, use me as an unexpected blessing to someone else. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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