Surprises in Life

A woman named Lorna Cade from Calgary tells a story about a time when a magnificent moose was on her property inside the city limits. After two hours of trying to coax it out, the Fish and Wildlife officer shot it with a tranquilizer. The moose took off down the street and eventually collapsed on a neighbor’s front yard. Reporters who had been following the events interviewed the neighbor at her house. They asked what she thought about the moose which was passed out on her lawn. “I’m surprised,” she answered, “but not as surprised as my husband will be. He’s out moose hunting!”

Life is actually full of surprises. Some surprises bless us richly – a kind word, a promotion at work, a serendipitous find. Some leave us feeling shocked or angry or in turmoil. The truth is we do not know what tomorrow holds – or even the next few moments. 

The famous pastor Henry Ward Beecher once wrote, “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” 

Beecher also wrote: “God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only choice is how.”

Today, I pray that no matter what surprises happen in life, you would take hold of today and tomorrow with the handle of faith.

Let us pray. Eternal and Majestic God, you who stretched out the heavens and who formed us from the dust of the earth, we place our trust in you. Receive today our joy and our gratitude. You have blessed us so richly. Take our worries, our anxiety and our struggles. Grant us guidance, wisdom, and above all a sense of your peace. Our times are in your hands, Loving God, and we give you thanks. Amen.