"Surprise, Surprise!" And I Was Twice Surprised!

Yet again, today was no ordinary day. But, before I talk about it, I just wanted to explain what I meant about the day not being an "Ordinary Day." Of course, every day is a gift worthy of our praises to God. Each day is laden with blessings and graces. The Bible speaks of this truth in 2 Corinthians 12:9.

However, by the generosity of God, there sure are certain days when there is more to the day-to-day gifts that we embrace and give thanks to God. This is what I meant in the opening paragraph.

So let me begin. 

God's wondrous ways take us by surprise as He pleases— sometimes in impressive ways, at other times modest. Yet, anyhow, He chooses to do it, big ways or small ways bring us joy just the same because it all comes down to the manner He gets our attention—literally stopping us in our tracks, so then we would know He orchestrated it. 

And today, He chose to work His wonders in a way my joys will reach the heavens!

I can't recall if it was around Thanksgiving or Christmas when I considered getting the self-sharpening knives and block set—J.A. Henckels, specifically. I found a holiday sale price hard to resist. If you saw how I wrestled with my impulses, you would say I'm learning to control my buying impulses.

For one, we already have a German-made knife set that we've been using for nearly three decades to date. German craftsmanship is outstanding! It's that good, so it made perfect sense to put this rather unwise impulsiveness to rest. 

You may wonder, why would I even fancy about it then? And, that is a fair question. I have a good explanation for that. I didn't say it was a practical one though. I charge that to the old me, who, in the past, and I have lost count of how many times it already happened— from time to time, I would consider an upgrade on whatever it was that I was eyeing. Often it was justifiable, an easy decision made. 

How does logic come into play here this time? Well, this knife set that we have didn't come with a self-sharpening block. It was a very tempting argument to justify it—speaking of an instant upgrade.  

Now, here is where I wrestled with myself. Logic also tells me, there's no need for a self-sharpening block because I have one of those good old-fashioned stones we use in the Philippines. In short, this knife set simply falls into the "Want" category. I let go of it. Proud to say, I've been leaning on the practical side of things for a long while now. 

Well— and, there's this "Well..." part in the sharing. This is where the good part is. I was downstairs. Let us just say I was doing the budget. I have this software that I use to do just that so I could have a better look at the bigger picture of our financial health.

My husband came downstairs and invited me to follow him to his office which is upstairs because it is adjacent to our room. You see, when we got the house years ago, I suggested that we should turn it into an office. I'd rather have him upstairs at night while he burned the midnight oil. It is very common for him to be working late though he commuted to work. Okay, so you might ask, "Was it even necessary to mention this here"? The answer is yes, it's all related...

I didn't realize I was going to share two things where I see the work of God waving in our direction only until now. I say this is truly amazing stuff because it was until I began writing about his office that it dawned on me it was an inspiration from God from the beginning why it had to be used as an office! Initially, I just thought it was perfect for that because it had a double door that one side can be kept open all the time, and I could see him work. It was for convenience's sake.

Okay, let me help navigate you here so you could follow along.

Five years after getting the house, my husband began to work from home two days a week. Then, the year of the pandemic came and the usual two days a week arrangement was changed to full-time working from home. I cannot believe it! God sure owns time. He can see the past, present, and future all at once!

Of course, I believe this to be true, but to see how it relates to us, how He proves it to us in our circumstances though, is just taking it to another level of understanding where our faith gets nurtured even more so. God knew that at some point in time, my husband would be working from home. It is just right that my husband has a dedicated room to do work, right? Well, he got one. The amazing part is that it was decided upon many years ago before it would even be used full-time. He never had a home office, so to have one when we got the house was purely out of some fancy thought.

Now, here is what makes me shake my head in amazement. One option we had was to turn it into a closet—my closet to be exact so I can have a big closet. Wouldn't that be nice? More room for all the other fun things, I would say. Well, that, or designate that as a guest room. It makes sense, too. But, see, it has to be an office. I see that now, by the way like I have a 20/20 vision.

Speaking of interesting stuff, this sure is getting more interesting the more I think about it. And here is why—

This post was for the knife set. It is in my journal. Isn't my blog about the things I've written in my journal? Okay, so I have to think of a catchy title for it to post here. I thought of "Surprise, surprise!" But little did I realize that I had to use "Surprise" twice, for the same reason that I am sharing two things that caught me by surprise!

I am loving it! I hope that you are, too. Okay, so here is "Surprise #2"—

As I've said earlier, my husband came downstairs because he wanted to show me something he knew would bring sparks to my eyes. Sweetness overload! Whoa, was he right!

This year marks his 20th year of employment within the UC system. As a token of appreciation, UC marks the occasion with a simple yet memorable gift for hubby to remember this momentous feat in his professional life within the company, which, by the way, is one of the best companies to work for in California.

A link was given to him to peruse the items to choose from. He wanted me to make the choice. How nice of my husband, right? So there I was, I sat in his chair. I scrolled and scrolled down to browse through the selections available. There were good ones that I find practical to have. Some were not very much although it would also be nice to have. 

I was close to picking out the espresso machine. Just who wouldn't want a cup of espresso once in a while, right? I was ready to put it in the cart, but, lo and behold! The J.A. Henckels knives and self-sharpening block set that I wanted were on there, near the bottom page! SURPRISE!

What can I say? Just like what Fr. Chris Alar, a Marianist priest, would often say, "This is fascinating stuff!" 

There was a reason I didn't get it when I was close to buying it. God wanted to gift it to me. I was going to get it for free! Imagine, if I bought it when I saw it in November or December, and only to see it today as an option to get it for free—I would be kicking myself! God didn't want me to do that. He would rather hear me giving Him praises. Alleluia!

God is pleased when we practice self-control. And I think that when we choose it over any situation, then we have matured in our ways because it requires wisdom, and discernment, which are two of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. I'm still working on it though concerning practicing self-control. One day I will get there.

Now is your turn to share your stories ingrained with a heavenly touch. Shoot me a message, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Many blessings!