Surprise!

I’d missed the shower. So on Sunday, I leaned over the chair in front of me after Tina finished playing the piano. “What’s your new grandbaby going to be?” I whispered near her ear. “We don’t know—it’s a baby.”

“They didn’t find out?” I questioned. Tina shook her head, eyes twinkling. “How fun!” I whispered, leaned back into my seat, and thought: Well, that’s why the nursery’s green and there wasn’t a hint of a gender on the invitation.

And I have to admit: I was amazed.

These days it seems like there are to be no surprises! Seemingly, gone are the days where you had to arrive at the hospital with two names—one for whichever. Our worlds are ones of control, and control means no surprises…we hope.

Some surprises, like a positive pregnancy test, can be joyful—or unsettling. (I’ve experienced both.) Yet, in all our preparation, all our minute planning, there are surprises from the sovereign hand of God that await us. There were very few who were looking for a Savior when God sled into time. And who would have dreamed that He’d arrive as He did and where He did?

Sovereign surprises often come when we least expect them—when we think we’re in control. It’s true that some surprises are painful—far, far from what we desired.

But, many surprises are wonderful. It was such fun in the delivery room to learn what “it” was—this baby we’d waited for—I’d thrown up for—

Is it a girl? Is it a boy?

Does she have my blue eyes or Jay’s deep brown?

Red hair, blonde, or brown?

Does it have hair?

Of course, not.

There are wonderful surprises when God slides into our world. We may not know what they’ll be or when, but we can anticipate them just the same.

It can be fun living in a world painted green, waiting to see what will be.