But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!” My future is in your hands. [Psalm 31:14-15a (NLT)]

We’d gone out to the bird sanctuary expecting to see dozens of beautiful birds enjoying the easy pickings in the remaining lake. The winter was dry and the summer rains have not begun so the last of the swamp’s lakes is disappearing, making it like catching fish in a barrel for the wading birds. Imagine our surprise when, instead of a shallow lake covered with water lettuce, we found only mud and, in place of herons, storks and egrets, we encountered dozens of black vultures enjoying the remains of the stinking fish in the muck. It certainly wasn’t what we expected and not really what we wanted, but it was amazing nonetheless and we were thankful.

We don’t always get what we expect, as a story making the rounds of the Internet aptly illustrates. A distraught mother, anxious to get back to her sick child with medicine just purchased at the pharmacy, discovered she’d locked her keys in the car. Seeing a coat hanger on the ground, she picked it up, straightened it and struggled to figure out how to jimmy the door. “Please God,” she prayed, “Send a policeman to help.” A rough looking man strolled by and asked if he could assist. Within moments of her explanation, he’d deftly unlocked the car. She hugged the man, thanked him for being so good to her, and told him he was God’s answer to her prayers. “I’m not good; I just got out of prison for car theft,” the ashamed man replied. “Praise God,” the woman responded, “He even sent me a professional!” God answers prayers, just not always in the way we expect Him to. Sometimes, however, His answer is even better than we imagined!

While writing this devotion, I thought of Emily Perl Kingsley’s essay “Welcome to Holland” which beautifully describes the experience of raising a child with a disability. I remembered a woman from our church who, like Kingsley, had planned on Italy and ended up in Holland; her son is mentally challenged. At an age when most young men are going to college or getting jobs, he still believes in Santa and Mickey Mouse. At a time when his parents expected to have an empty nest, he is incapable of flying away on his own. Does his mother complain? Not at all; she speaks of how blessed she is to have such a beautiful son so full of love and wonder—a son who has brought her great joy. God answered her prayers for a child but in an unexpected and different way. Her journey, while unlike than that of her friends, has still been a good one.

I’ve never arrived in Holland after purchasing a ticket for Italy; nevertheless, like everyone else, I’ve had prayers that were answered in unlooked-for ways. Occasionally, we get vultures instead of egrets, car thieves instead of cops, or a disabled child instead of an honor student. Sometimes we get what we’ve asked for and sometimes we are given something entirely different. It’s not necessarily bad; it’s just totally unexpected. We just need to accept God’s provision, trust in His love and wisdom, and thank Him for our many blessings.

Sometimes God doesn’t give you what you want not because you don’t deserve it but because you deserve better [Anonymous Internet wisdom]

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13 (NLT)]