Read an Excerpt
A Perfect MistakeGrandpa Nybakken loved life — especially when he could play a trick on somebody. At those time, his large Norwegian frame shook with laughter while he feigned innocent surprise, exclaiming, ôOh, forevermore!ö But on a cold Saturday in downtown Chicago, Grandpa felt that God played a trick on him, and Grandpa wasnÆt laughing.
MotherÆs father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. He remembered putting them there that morning, so he drove back to the church. His search proved fruitless.
When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.
ôItÆs not fair,ö he told God as he drove home in frustration. ôIÆve been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this.ö
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfatherÆs small church in Chicago. Grandpa and his family sat in their customary seats among the sparse congregation.
ôBut most of all,ö he said, ôI must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate.ö
ôEven if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staffed removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top.ö
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: ôFolks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as thought they had been custom-made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that!ö
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.
But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.
—
Cheryl Walterman Stewart
(c)2000. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery, and Nancy Mitchell Autio. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.
