Skip to content

Surprised with goodness

Linda’s Lines
Linda Wegner

We all know that not all surprises are pleasant; indeed, some are unpleasant and others can be downright tragic. In contrast to those, I want to share some of the lovely surprises I’ve experienced this past week.

This succession of lovely things began first thing Monday morning. As part of my daily walk, I chug up the hill from our place to a bus stop near a local condo building. Catching the same bus is a fine young man from Korea, a student at one of our training schools. We’ve become “bus buddies” and I truly enjoy his company. Monday morning before the bus arrived, he presented me with a $20 gift certificate to my favourite coffee shop. I was both surprised and delighted.

The next day, as I finished shopping at one of our local grocery stores, one of the attractions of the day was the opportunity to present one’s cash register receipt before “spinning the wheel” in the hopes of winning something. I almost passed up the opportunity but figured, “Hey, even winning an extra 500 points towards my next shopping trip helps.” Another surprise! I won one of the few remaining gift-card rewards still up for grabs.

As if that wasn’t enough, this morning I received a lovely email from the daughter of a former friend who informed me her mom had passed away. The email also thanked me for having been a blessing and encouragement to her mom. I had no idea my friendship meant so much to her.

How have you been blessed this week? How can you bless someone else? Here’s a suggestion from Solomon, the writer of Proverbs:

“If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch: if he’s thirsty, bring him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness, and God will look after you.”