Something wonderful happened last week. Due to his surgery, my husband won’t be able to drive until next week so I am his chauffeur. I drove him to a meeting at work and the other nurses there gave him a get-well card that they all signed. They also enclosed a gift card for our local grocery store - I can’t believe the amount! I cried when he showed it to me. I began thinking about how this story has played out. The Lord knew my husband was going to need this heart surgery long before my husband ever became a nurse. I think his becoming a nurse was vital to our situation at present. So many things have come together, I feel like I can see things a bit clearer now. We would really be in a bad way if my husband still had his cabinet business. His being a nurse has made so many things easier for him and for us. And he’s happy at his job and with his fellow employees - which is important to me.  The people he works with really miss him - what a nice feeling that is for Todd!

If you’ve read any of my posts from last year, you may know that it has been very difficult for me to accept my husband’s new career. I have prayed for a change of attitude and the Lord is continuing His work in me.  More evidence that His will is best for us. As I’ve said many times … God is good.

I kind of feel like this circle is complete. Todd had to become a nurse - he just had to. God said so.

Another circle came to mind last week. I was getting a Sunday paper out of a machine at a corner store in our neighborhood. As I was loading the quarters in (all 8 of them - $2.00 for a paper!) just as I was about to put in the last one, I saw that it was a South Dakota with Mount Rushmore on it. As we are statehood quarter collectors, I called out to my family waiting in the car, “Do we have South Dakota?” Suddenly, a young man appeared behind me and offered me a quarter. Startled, I said, “Oh, no, that’s o.k., really.” He answered, “Here, take it.” I thanked him and said how generous it was of him. He said that he often panhandled and liked to give back to the community when he could. And then he walked away. On the way home, I thought of how nice it was of him and it reminded me of something that happened about 5 years ago in Southern California. We were visiting my family there and my son, Chad, and I went into a grocery store by the beach. A skateboarder was standing near the door and asked me for a quarter, which I gave to him. While in the store, I decided to buy this young man a candy bar, thinking that he might be hungry. When we walked out, I handed it to the skateboarder and said, “Here, this is for you.” He said, “Really?” I said, “Yeah, why not.” He smiled and said thanks and skated off. It was one of those silly, giddy moments you feel when you do something totally unexpected for someone for no reason. Just for the sake of giving. I love moments like that. And I hope that young man that gave me the quarter felt the same way. Giving for the sake of giving. We learn that from God. He gives out of love, freely, for the sake of giving.

I love circles.