The blog has been quiet for a bit, but hopefully that is about to change since the UPS man arrived yesterday.

What does the UPS man have to do with my blog? Simple enough. He brought me a present from God.

About a month ago, Elijah picked up the computer from the end table beside our couch. The cord caught on the magazine rack below, and the computer crashed to its death.

Already Mr. Computer had been showing signs of demise, so this was not a completely unexpected death, although certainly an untimely one from my point of view.

Over the next few weeks I had two significant writing/editing deadlines. I had agreed to edit Vibrant Girl (an awesome magazine for teenage girls in case you haven’t heard). I also had a writing assignment for another blog.

Besides those things, we are in the thick of getting our foster license, so every time I needed to print out a form, I had to run to the library.

The library became my rescuer, but using a computer there wasn’t easy with half a hundred (or four) kiddos to monitor at the same time.

A month slipped by, the bookkeeping fell behind, but we managed. Then yesterday, a box landed on our front porch.

Stuart carried the box to our dining room table. I couldn’t remember ordering anything, but the box had my name on it so I decided to open it.

The children and I clustered around the box, and gasped as the wrapper gave way.

We were completely astounded to find a new laptop gleaming at us!

Cheering and dancing and praising Jesus filled our little house! Will drove in the lane just then, and the children all ran out screaming, “Daddy, come look what we got!”

I remembered standing with Will by the rabbit pen a week ago, feeling sad about the multiple needs facing our family. We decided to ask God to provide, and among other things, I asked Him for a computer. The simple request lightened my heart, and I stopped fretting.

Then God talked to one of His other children, who listened and sent the UPS man.

I know God doesn’t always give us what we want–I can’t reduce Him to a Father Christmas. But I wonder how many times I don’t have what I need because I don’t ask (James 4:2).

And how many times have I missed God’s nudge to meet someone else’s need? I believe God delights in a glorious game of His children working together to accomplish good in His Kingdom. His joy and our joy becomes one as His cherished people both give and receive.

I am grateful and humbled to belong to a loving and giving God.

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Since I wrote this, I found out that five of Will’s cousins paid for the laptop. I married into a family of exceptional cousins, don’t you think?