Blessings in Disappointments

Second from the right back row: Wavie O'Harra Fuller
Sometimes, what we think of as unfortunate or bad circumstances can be filled with blessings.

Reader, please excuse my absence for over a month.  We had plans to be at our Wisconsin family's house, seeing the newest grandchild, and using their WiFi to write my blog.  Things took a different turn in Nebraska.  We had planned an overnight stop in Nebraska to visit a childhood friend of mine, when a phone call from my son in Wisconsin came saying, "Don't come we all have a hand, foot, and mouth disease and it is contagious."  I wanted to go and cry.  Here we had planned this lovely trip and now we couldn't go the rest of the way. Yet in this "disappointment" for me, God in His great love, had other appointments meant for us.

To alleviate my sadness my friend said, "Let's stop at the Nemaha County Museum in Auburn and you can do some research on your grandparents.  Instead of finding anything out about them, I found pictures of my mother.  I discovered wonderful things I didn't know that gave an added picture of her life. I found out silly things like how she was called "Pinkie".  I found out wonderful things such as how she performed at Peru State Teacher's College on her violin and won competitions.  Things I never knew about her. I cried when I saw them and wished so much she were alive so we could talk about it.  Bittersweet tears flowed.

Because of the inability to go to Wisconsin, we stayed a couple of days in Iowa where I had the time to see my cousin's house and visit with her and I discovered that even though we were close, we could become closer still.  We had a sweet time.

Another of our son's went with us.  He helped us drive, and since he attends school  in Texas, we headed  back to Texas early to spend the last two and half weeks there.  He had a German exam to take and once that was finished we would all head home for Arizona together.  We had no internet, no television reception, and three of us were confined to a small studio apartment, yet even here we found blessings.  Our son received a great job opportunity that he wouldn't have gotten if we had been in Wisconsin.  He was able to go on interviews and turn in the necessary paperwork.  He's still waiting to hear  about the job, but it was a promising opportunity he wouldn't have gotten otherwise.  Then we had an added blessing of finding out my nephew was  in a nearby town and we could spend time with his family..  I got to share a lot of family photos with him.

Long ago I heard this old saying: Disappointment: Change one letter and you will see His appointment meant for me.  I have learned there is truth in this.

If we look for blessings, I am sure we shall find them.

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