Behind my house is a vegetable garden. It’s the same garden where my mother planted her vegetables. It’s mine now and last spring was the first time I planted seeds of my choice.
We had a bumper crop of tomatoes and jalapeños. I also harvested melons and lettuce.
At the end of the season my dad and I cleaned out the old plants and lightly tilled the earth. It was ready for winter.
Then something unexpected happened. After some fall rains, some once-dormant seeds sprouted and began to push their way to the surface. There was one I didn’t recognize. After some investigating I discovered I had a beautiful bok choy plant. Now bok choy is a chinese leafy green. It’s become a popular choice in all kinds of cooking. My sister-in-law knew exactly how to prepare it. She chopped it up and cooked it down as part of a delicious meal.
Here’s the kicker….I know for a fact that my mother never planted bok choy. That was way too exotic for her. How it got into her garden, I’ll never know.
But isn’t that just what God does? He causes things to sprout in our hearts that we never planted. His love shows up in ways we never expect. Maybe it’s an opportunity that comes seemingly out of the blue, or a contact from a loved one we thought was past hope.
God’s love may not be what we ask for. But it always sprouts into something beautiful and surprising. We just have to look for it.
Father, help me see the beauty in your unexpected love.
For Today: Look for God’s love everywhere you go today. Ask Him to open your eyes to the beauty in the unexpected. Journal about it.