The Unexpected

She was young.  Really young.  Around 13 or 14 young.  (Not like 30 or 40 young…which used to be old….until you are that age or older….then it is young.  Really young.  Focus Dana…focus!  Get back on track and on topic!)

Yes.  She was really, really young and beautiful but her life had not always been easy.  Both of her parents were dead and she was being raised by a relative.  She was living far away from her homeland but she was still a young teenager and doing life.  You know, doing things young teenagers do when they can’t drive or date.

Then it happened.  The unexpected.  In a flash, in an instant, she found herself surrounded with hundreds of other beautiful, young teenagers that she did not know.  She was in a place she never expected to be…doing things she never expected to do…with people she never expected to be with.

The unexpected.  It comes in a flash and yet sometimes can last a lifetime.  It can come without warning but, at the same time, we should be prepared for it.

You have met this young, beautiful girl.  Her name is Hadassah….you might know her better as Esther.  Her life was full of the unexpected…even her name changed.  Hadassah is her Jewish name and Esther is her Persian name…and because of the unexpected she began to look and act (good or bad) more like Esther the Persian rather than Hadassah the Jew.

Perhaps your life is not too far fetched from Hadassah’s.  Perhaps many unexpected twists and turns have happened to you as well.  Perhaps you are in a place you never expected to be (are you living in a town or state you never thought you’d ever live?  In a church you never thought you’d be in?).  Perhaps you are doing things you never expected to do (teaching or counseling or cleaning or serving or being married to a pastor or nothing or whatever) with people you never expected to be with (Yikes!  Who ARE these people I am with??!)!

You were named ______________ (Fill in the blank with your name) but now you are called Pastor’s wife or mom or coach or teacher or whatever.  You are from _____________________ but now you live in _________________!

The unexpected.  It happens.  All.of.the.time.  We are put in situations and circumstances we never, ever expected…or even wanted for that matter....but we can maneuver through each and every unexpected turn with grace and power dependent on the One who goes before us!

Look for the unexpected.  Anticipate it.  Learn to love the unexpected.  Do not fear the unexpected!

Unexpected is often where God shows up and does the biggest, most awesome unexpected things.  After all, He took a beautiful, young teenager and used her to save many of God’s people from destruction!  Totally unexpected!!  Just think what He might want to do through you!

What unexpected thing is happening in your life right now?  Look for ways God might want to use the unexpected things for His glory and your good!!

After all...."who knows (God knows!!), perhaps you have come (unexpectedly) to your royal position for such a time as this!"  Esther 4:14