Back in the summer I was out on a walk with some friends - along a river then up a steep climb to the top of a ridge and down the other side. There was a rough path and it was a nice day so there were quite a few people out and about. As we were walking along I looked down and saw a ten pound note on the ground. I picked it up and looked for who might have dropped it but there was nobody directly in front of us. So I put it in my pocket and told the friends I was with that I would be looking out for the person who had dropped it. They thought I was bonkers and said I should stand the drinks at the pub at the end of the walk. We climbed up to the top and had passed several people both going up and down. When we got to the top there was a lady just starting to make her way down and for some reason I just said to her ' excuse me have you lost some money? ' She looked amazed and said ' Yes! A tenner dropped out of my pocket somewhere along the way'. I handed it to her and she thanked me. And that was that.
I think I said something to my friends about believing that what goes around comes around.........
On Monday Ben took his dinner money in to school. When he came home on Monday afternoon he miserably informed me that he had lost the ten pound note somewhere between our house and his classroom. He was upset. I told him not to worry , someone would have handed it in. I was SO sure of this that it genuinely never crossed my mind to be cross that a tenner had vanished. I just firmly believed that God would return my ten pounds to me because He is just and fair and ' what goes around comes around' So on Tuesday I went up to school to ask the secretary if anyone had handed in the money. As I was walking up the road I was thinking ' Oooh I can write about this in my blog today. Sowing and reaping. Honesty pays. That sort of thing How God restores what is lost.'
Just before I set foot in the school God said to me ' What if I dont? ' Hmmmmmmmm. No. Don't want to listen to that.
Went in to school and spoke to the secretary and Ben's class teacher. Nobody had handed in the money. I paid for the unpaid-for school dinners and left feeling a little..... well.....intrigued I suppose. I wasn't angry or upset or disappointed.... I was just wondering what it was all about. I knew God knew where the £10 had gone. Perhaps someone had picked it up in the street - Ive picked up money in the street before and kept it - because there was no way of ever finding the owner. So maybe it was divine justice after all. Or perhaps the person who had picked it up really needed it. Needed it more than I did. I can stand to lose a tenner right now.... but for someone perhaps finding a tenner was a real blessing.
I then moved on to thinking about whether it was ' fair' or not. Was it fair that I should find and return a ten pound note to someone and then not get back the ten pounds I had lost. Surely God could have sorted things out to be fair? And if it wasnt fair ( it didnt seem to be fair as I was looking at it) then how was I going to feel about that? I had been SO sure that God would give me my lost money back. I decided that whatever the reason He had for not doing so - He knows best. That sounds a bit pious doesnt it? It wasnt. It was more of a shrug of the shoulders and an ' Oh well, nothing much I can do about it now.' sort of thing.
Yesterday ( Thursday) Ben came home from school clutching a ten pound note wrapped in a post it note which said ' this was found in the playground today' and signed Ben's class teacher. Ha!! So for four days a tenner had been lying in the playground ?? And somehow I just know that the reason it sat there undiscovered for four days was that God wants to teach me something.
Im still chewing over what that might be but here are a few initial thoughts.
1) God has a sense of humour. I laughed out loud when Ben produced the money yesterday afternoon. I could feel God smiling. A totally unexpected twist. He is good at that
2) Sometimes we can have faith for something and be sure that God has spoken only to be disappointed by seemingly contradictory evidence or circumstances. But perhaps if we just wait a while......?
3) What goes around does indeed come around. You really do reap what you sow. God is always giving us chances to be righteous and honest, to be kind and good. To serve others and meet needs. Lets take all the chances we can because one day we might need to be on the receiving end of honesty and kindness and service.
I know this hasnt got anything much to do with Advent but its what has been on my mind today so thats what has gone in the Blog. Maybe back to more seasonal matters tomorrow? Who knows? Lord , Thank you so much for watching over us with such care. Thank you that even the small happenings of our every day lives are important to you and nothing goes unnoticed. You care about the ten pound notes every bit as much as you care about global economies. You cared about lepers and children just as much as you cared about the eternal salvation of Mankind. You are good and I love You.
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