What I Didn't Know

I didn't know what was happening at the time.

We were a young married couple, visiting friends in Lakeland, Florida, standing on the sidewalk in front our their house when a Jewish man and his wife walked toward us on their daily stroll.

Before I could comprehend, the man walked up to me, put his hand on my head and began speaking in a language I didn't understand. I asked his wife what he said. She smiled and replied, "He just gave you a blessing. He's a Jewish rabbi."

Further conversation confirmed that the man suffered from a bit of dementia. Though he may not have possessed all his former mental faculties, I cherished the fact that he thought enough of a stranger to give me a blessing that day.

I didn't know what was happening at the time the nice-looking young man who had been writing letters to me from a far-away state said, "Want to go for a drive?"

"Sure, I replied. We drove through miles of scenic countryside that warm summer Saturday. The young man stopped on a gravel road at a stop sign and proposed to me! Four decades later, I'm still traveling with the man who became my fiance' that day.

I didn't know what was happening at the time some relatives threw a 40th anniversary party for my parents. Though we lived nearly halfway across the continent, I was able to attend.

As we left the party that day I turned around for one last look at my folks with the comment, "You never know when it's going to be the last time you see someone."

A year later we received a phone call that my dad had passed away suddenly. That last glance from the car window had been the final time I saw my dad alive.

Life sometimes hands us unexpected events. It's good to know the God of heaven knows about them before they happen. And I've noticed He has a unique way of preparing us.

How about you? Have you had unusual events lately? Feel free to comment below.