God's Beautiful Surprises

They always encourage us

This article was written by Mark Crumplin of Zimbabwe some twenty years ago and appeared in our South African Signs of the Times of January/February 2006.

Image by Franz Bachinger from Pixabay

“Lord, don’t you know I hate riding in the rain? Could you not let it rain any other time?”

My day had started out OK. I was up on time in the morning, after a good night’s sleep, full of energy and raring to go and face another day ahead of me. My cycle trip to work, which is about 10 km from home, went well without any problems along the way. The weather was fair, not too hot or cold. So far my morning had started on a good note and I was in a good mood. But this good atmosphere was all about to change.

I am the sewing machine mechanic at the factory where I work, and I am the only one there, besides the boss who steps in now and again. Some days I hardly have any breakdowns with the sewing machines, but other times the breakdowns come in one after another. At the same time, some breakdowns are simple ones, but others are not so simple. I am also under pressure to get the sewing machines working again so that the factory does not fall behind in production.

On this day, the breakdowns started. They came two or three at a time and it got to the point where I had about six or seven breakdowns waiting for me, with no rest in between. It seemed that I would not get on top of the situation. I had no time for a breather. It was just machine after machine and the breakdowns were also not simple five minute jobs but long brain racking ones.

By lunch time the heat was on. Not only did I still have breakdowns to attend to, but the factory had become a furnace with our “Zimbabwean Hot October Summer Sun.” I had been sweating my brains out on the machines, and the sun had been sweating me dry of my internal waters. It got so bad, that my water bottle, which I keep at work found a new home on my lips, or should I say it became a permanent fixture to my lips. I was feeling hot and sticky but had to keep working.

After lunch, it was the same old story with the machines, as the long hot afternoon hours slowly slipped away. Sweat it out on one machine, get it working and then move on to the next and sweat it out again. But then the breakdowns stopped coming and I was soon able to catch up. I was hoping that no more breakdowns would come so that I would have time to relax before knock off time at five o’clock. But little did I know that another problem was brewing. This problem was of a different nature than what I had been having the whole day.

Just when I thought that things were looking up, I was faced with another onslaught. At about four o’clock I started to see dark rain clouds forming. They were still small and being only an hour away from knock off time, I thought that perhaps I might just be able to cycle the 10 km home before it started to rain. By 4:20 pm those dark clouds were bigger and the lightning had begun to flash. The wind had also started to pick up and the temperature was dropping fast.

“God, where have you been today when I needed you? Why have you allowed my day to be like this? Why did you leave me by myself, when I had all those breakdowns and when I was suffering from the heat? Could you not have prevented most of those breakdowns?” When one feels in the dumps or out of control, sometime we start questioning God. “And now Lord, after leaving me the whole day, you let this storm come to make me feel worse.”

Why do we do this? Don’t we know that it’s not God’s fault that we feel low sometimes? Don’t we know that God said that He would never leave us nor forsake us? What I did not realise or know was that God had been with me every step of the way and that He had two surprises waiting for me.

As I saw that approaching storm I thought about the many car accidents that happen at such times as this. I also realised that wet breaks don’t work as well as dry ones. One thing I do not like is to cycle in the rain.

Photo by Mitchell Gnest on Unsplash

How grateful I was that I had my raincoat with me. So at 5 pm, all bottled up in my raincoat, I set off on the dangerous road for home. I cycled a lot slower than normal so that it would be easier to stop if I had to. It did not take long before my shoes were full of cold icy water making me feel worse than I already was. While I was riding home, I could see lots and lots of lightning all around me, and the thought entered my head, “What if one of those lightning bolts hit me?”

“SPLASH!” A speeding car hit a puddle of water and sent it spraying all over me. “Lord, don’t you know I hate riding in the ran? Could you not let it rain any other time?” Here I go again, complaining about how miserable I was and wishing it could be different. “SPLASH!” Another speeding car.

A splashing car can make it hard for a cyclist. Image by Angga Pratama on Unsplash.

About half way home it began to rain harder and harder. At the same time the wind was blowing strongly. The rain began to sting my face and eyes. I tried to avoid the stinging rain, but the wind only changed directions. If it blew any harder, it would blow me right off my bicycle. Visibility became poor as the blinding rain came down faster and faster.

At long last I was at home. I went straight to the bathroom and removed my raincoat, my water logged shoes and drenched socks. It was not over yet. I discovered that we had no electricity, probably knocked out by the storm, and no telling when it would come on again. It was dark in the house as well as being hot and stuffy, so I went to the front door and stood on the porch. While I was standing there sulking about the bad day I had and the fact that I had no electricity, the sun came out from behind a dark cloud and shone brightly while it was still raining. My brain began to calculate: Sun + Rain = What?

Quickly I went to the back door, and Wow! What a sight met my eyes. A beautiful complete rainbow. Not just one rainbow, but two rainbows. There was a very bright inner one and a lighter almost invisible outer one. “Thank you Lord for your bow in the sky. I really needed it today to cheer me up.” The two rainbows reminded me of God’s promise that He would never flood the whole earth again and it helped me to unwind and to realise He is still there.

Image by James Wheeler from Pixabay

I stood at the back door enjoying the rainbows until the setting sun began to make the rainbows slowly fade away. I then made my way back to the front door, and Wow!, again! Another beauty was there to meet my eyes. No not another rainbow, but a wonderful sunset. “Thank you God once again for displaying your beauty and your love to me.”

As I watched the wonderful sunset, I began to think about the day that had just ended. Was God really there for me today? Yes. He had never left me, even though it felt like He did. He had woken me up early in the morning full of health. He had given me a safe ride to work.

I watched the beautiful sunset! Photo by Sidney Severin on Unsplash.

He had helped me to know what to do at each breakdown that I faced. He supplied the water that I had gulped down. He had given me strength throughout the day, even to see me to the end. He had given me another safe ride home amidst all the dangers. And now He had given me two surprises, the beautiful rainbows and the glorious sunset.

Yes, many a time we go through life hoping that every day will be perfect. And when we find it is not, we begin to complain and question God. What we should do is to trust God completely and allow Him to take care of us, to see us through the day. And who knows, He may just surprise you too, with Hs love and care.