I didn’t see it coming. . .

My house backs up to a busy road, and there are two really big trees that hang over my back fence. I’m not sure whose responsibility it is to maintain them, but that’s beside the point. They aren’t mine, but affect me constantly because the leaves fall into my yard and build up under/behind my hedge bushes, and the limbs hang down low onto my roof and bang around when it storms, and the birds build their nests and poo all over the hedges below… Safe to say I am not a fan of these trees. On numerous occasions I have fussed and complained and wished they’d be taken out. I have allowed myself to be upset over these big old trees that cause so many problems.
 
A few weeks ago I awoke to a huge crash that sounded like it was directly outside my window. The sound was horrible. The squeal of tires, the crunch of metal, the bang of multiple impacts, then an extremely loud thud and a continuous horn blast that lasted for 10-15 minutes. I could hear people talking, then yelling, frantically calling for help. Then I heard the sirens of ambulance and police arrive. I heard the jaws of life as they had to cut the driver out who was unconscious and laid over the steering wheel. It was horrendous. All right outside my window.
 
Do you want to know what kept that multiple car collision from hitting my house? Those two trees! The bark is torn off, they have deep gashes in them, and they are cracked and broken now. These last 3 years complaining about those two trees and wishing they would be torn out – all the while God knew they needed to be right where they were to protect me from that collision. All I could see was the inconvenience of raking leaves, the annoyance at hearing the branches bang the roof, and the work of cutting off a few limbs – I was missing the blessings! The shade those giant trees provide my whole yard, the amazing cardinal nest in the branches, the protection they could provide should a wreck happen directly behind my house…
 
We don’t always see how God is working; we might feel like our prayers aren’t being heard because we aren’t getting the outcome we want. We might be complaining about an inconvenience or hardship that we don’t see the point of. But I can testify to that fact that God is working – even when we can’t see it or understand it. When we look for the negative, we will see it everywhere; but when we look for the blessing and provision of God, we will see it instead. This week I would challenge you to look for God’s provision and blessing in your life and circumstances and to focus on that. Then praise Him for it!!! Give Him the glory for what He has done. Even when you didn’t see it coming…
 
Many Blessings,
Pastor Sarah