The beauty of our journey is often found in unexpected moments. The stranger who pays for our meal, the “good” report after rounds of hopeless health updates, the sudden promotion, a serenade on our birthday from coworkers we thought didn’t like us, the discovery of $5 in a jeans pocket. If we sit still and ponder the moments we didn’t see coming, we’ll realize the hand and whisper of God reworking our delicate journeys to reflect His goodness and glory.

Ms. Mary was someone I didn’t see coming. She approached me after a worship service where I preached one of the seven last words of Christ. During my sermon, I shared prophet Jeremiah’s message of the Potter and the Potter’s House, as an encouragement to the weary and broken. After the service, in a brief introduction, Ms. Mary identified herself as a potter. Among other things she shared with me, she said my message was for her. Ms. Mary shared details about her pottery ministry and alerted me of her visit to my area in a couple of weeks. She said she would bring me a special gift.

Days passed, and so did my recollection of her anticipated visit. Until, of course, one Sunday morning, I drove into our church parking lot and saw an unfamiliar car. I was rushing to get inside for Sunday School, and Ms. Mary got out of her car to warmly greet me. She then presented me with a gift bag. She said, “I told you I was coming.” I instantly remembered our conversation after that worship service. I put aside the things I had in my hands and carefully opened the gift bag. As I removed the surrounding paper, the gift was revealed. The gift was a custom-made pot with beautiful curves and designs adorned with a matching lid fashioning a slight bend. As tears began to flow down my face, Ms. Mary said this was the pot God led her to for me. Ms. Mary’s ministry of pots is dependent on the direction of God. She sculpts them, and God instructs her on who to bless. She embraced me as I wept. I was overwhelmed by her kindness, by God’s mindfulness of me, and by a wound within that was being healed precisely at that moment.

God has a distinct way of getting our attention. While we seek to plan our future, we cannot escape the unexpected moments of life that command our attention and response. Does the impact of unforeseen moments darken your perspective on the journey you hope to travel, or does the unexpected encourage your adventurous path? Are you prone to see damaged outcomes, or are you determined to trust in the promise and work of the Potter? I pray you see the latter. God is inviting us to His house to peek at what He’s working on. What do you see?

“So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” – Jeremiah 18:3-4