Avery wanted a nice pair of sandals. She did her research, found a company she respected and noted the favorable reviews. When they arrived, they were just what she wanted, they were so cute, real leather, and just perfect. Except they were just a tiny bit big, so she wanted to return them for a better size. Days passed, then weeks. I told her it was her job to make arrangements for the return and I’d leave her to it. After more than a month I finally decided to take care of it. But by this point, I realized they wouldn’t accept returns. So we were stuck with an expensive pair of sandals that no one in our house could wear (they were too tight for me and they aren’t really B’s style). She put them out there on Instagram, but nothing. Out of the blue, I decided to take a picture and see if my sister would be interested. And to ask what size shoe she wears. She thought they were cute and would work, so I mailed them. She loves them, and they fit just right. I can’t tell you how elated I was/am that we found the right home for them!!!! I told her they would be part of her birthday/Mothers Day. It was sort of interesting; usually, I like to do a bit more for her birthday, but this year I had only gotten her a little gift card for some reason. I felt weird that I hadn’t done a little more, but every time I thought about what else to get, I would just feel blank. So this was the perfect addition to her gift card, and I’ve been so happy every time I think of her and the sandals. It’s like it was meant to happen this way.
Last week I had just finished up at the temple and ran an errand and looked down at my planner to see where I was in my day. I realized a group of friends was meeting at the zoo at 11:45; it was straight-up noon. Sigh. How did I forget that? It was a beautiful day, perfect for walking outside, plus ladies from church would be there and I always like to mingle with them—both as their friend as well as, from a Relief Society standpoint, to see how everyone’s doing. I was too late and didn’t have my walking shoes with me. Or a lunch. But just then another friend and I were texting and she mentioned she was meeting a mutual friend for lunch and that I should join them. I hate imposing. I hate spending money. I didn’t want to be inside a restaurant. And I had a million projects to get back to at home. And yet, they were meeting in half an hour. I just had this last errand. I love these two friends so much and I’d been wanting to see how the one I never really get to see was doing. I knew she had a lot going on and wanted to see how she was feeling about it all. So I went. We talked for a good part of the afternoon. And then I sat in my friend’s car and we talked for another hour. It was perfect. We connected, we talked about matters of the heart, we left feeling closer. It was as if it had been orchestrated.
The week before we’d asked a woman to teach our Sunday class but during the week she was sick and told us she didn’t think she’d be able to help out after all. Actually, she told her friend, who told us, and that friend volunteered to fill in for her. It turned out to be the perfect experience. We hadn’t heard from this sister in many months because she works with the kids during church. She touched our hearts with her stories and experiences. We had a great discussion, and I know it was uplifting to be with her friends in a spiritual setting. In fact, it felt like it all fell into place for a reason.
I've felt irritated at myself when I’ve been late getting a birthday card out or when the mail service delayed a note I’d written to someone, counting on it arriving on a given day. Later I've discovered that the cards or notes had arrived on just the right day, one in which women needed a little love from a friend, a little pick-me-up. Interesting.
Todd’s been dealing with major changes at work for over a year. We didn’t anticipate this and we honestly aren’t sure how it’s all going to play out. But it helps to think that, although scary and unsettling, maybe this is exactly how it's supposed to be going.
I’ve felt embarrassed and rejected when I’ve scheduled lunches and one by one my friends will call and cancel the morning of. But I have noticed that these gatherings always seem to feel as if just the people who needed to spend time together were able to.
We were pre-approved to build a house years and years ago in a cute little neighborhood where several friends lived. It was just the right sized lot and house, it was perfect. Until we completely forgot that we were working on building a house. It just totally left our minds. Months later we remembered that we’d planned on building and wondered why on earth we had been so negligent about moving forward. Until a friend mentioned another piece of property for a good price. We went ahead with it and our years in that neighborhood were priceless. We met such sweet people who became close and dear friends and who still are. It was as if this was where we’d meant to end up right from the start.
I loved the story given this past weekend in Conference about the missionary who ordered an overcoat in the states and didn’t realize it was far too small until he was in the mission field in Paris. At which point he gave the coat to a fellow missionary and bought himself a new one. He wrote home to his family and told them that the missionary he’d given his coat to was a convert of a few years and had only his mom and the missionary who’d taught him as support. He’d been praying for a better coat. Elder Hales explained that God knew these two missionaries would be serving together. He knew the store in Utah would send a coat that be too small and that it would be an answer to another missionary’s prayers.
We can think of all the break-ups from relationships we were hoping would go somewhere or rejections from programs we’d applied to, plans that didn’t work out, all sorts of hiccups or mishaps in life, as failures. There are all sorts of songs about this kind of thing, broken roads, and unanswered prayers. I just wonder if some of the disappointments or setbacks or changes in plans really aren’t mistakes after all. Maybe in all of it, God has something better in store. Maybe He’s working things out for our good and for the good of those around us.
I’ve realized how much less anxiety I have when I apply this thinking. When plans fall through or get switched up, when it seems that things are falling apart or we can’t understand why life seems to be going so different than we intended, I comfort myself by allowing that maybe this is how is all supposed to be. We might not know why for years later, but in the meantime, I know that God wants us to learn and grow. He wants to bless us. And sometimes his ways are not our ways. I know, just as he is aware of every sparrow, he absolutely knows us and is in the details of our lives. And if we settle down and accept that maybe this is how it’s meant to be, we will see his hand in our lives more clearly and be grateful.
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