The Parable of the Goats

Yesterday as Lucie and I were on our walk, we heard a strange crying sound. We had heard it briefly the day before at the same place on the road. It sounded a bit like a child in distress. I immediately began listening closer...was it a child? If so, should I investigate? Could it be the youngster who lives up the hill in the old farmhouse? I began making my intervention plan.. Then I listened closer. No, not a child. Maybe an amorous cat? I could ignore that. Maybe it's one of the neighbors calves, maybe it's caught someplace. More thoughts swirled in my head. I started formulating another plan. As we turned the corner, I was still deep in thought, pondering next steps, when out of the woods popped a herd of little goats! Surprise! Lucie barked, I yelped, the goats bleated and cried before running away down the road. I quickly recovered my composure, grabbed Lucie, and soon the little guys came back to have their heads rubbed and to nuzzle for food. Surprise...that funny sound was goats! Who would have thought that? I'd never seen goats anywhere along this road.

Isn't life a bit like my goat story? You have a problem to solve. You ponder, you think, you worry and fret. You make plan after plan. You lose sight of the here-and-now because you're so engrossed in figuring out your issue. Then out of the blue....God surprises you with what He wants, His plan. His surprise is often better than anything you have even imagined. His surprise is always the right answer to the dilemma. Sometimes His surprise is simply a wake up call to remind you that you are not in charge here....He is. No one says you shouldn't work to solve problems or have goals to achieve. But the moral to this parable is you should always leave yourself willing and open to be surprised by God. What surprises does God have in store for you today?