Blessed to be Broken

Let’s talk about how much God cares about you. Before I left on my recent girl’s trip to Alaska, my son’s friend asked me to bring him back some salmon. I was like, I don’t think so, followed by some sort of “yeah, right” snorting sound.

It wasn’t my plan to do any fishing. It wasn’t my plan to ask anyone if they had any freshly caught salmon. It was for sure not my plan to bring back fish from AK to NY. The plane trip home was gonna be excruciatingly long and how would I even ensure the fish would arrive safely? To that end, my son’s friend said something like, “I’m not ever gonna get fresh salmon.” I guess he’d asked a few people to bring him fresh salmon.

A few days into the trip I spoke to my son and he had the grand idea to get a stuffed salmon for his friend. Both perfect and a little bit hysterical! I could easily pack a stuffed salmon and safely get that home.

The day my friends and I went to Talkeetna, I told them I needed to get a stuffed salmon, so be on the lookout. Thank God I did that, because once we got there….gasp…I forgot. I’ll blame it on menopausal brain fog. HA!!! It’s a thing, don’t laugh.

I brought said stuffed salmon up to the register and lo and behold, they had this cool map under glass. So, if you look closely, there’s a heart next to where I “caught” this salmon. Talkeetna. I thought I was so clever. But, wait!! It gets better.

My friends and I returned from our trip and went back to our friend’s cabin. Unfortunately, one of our friends couldn’t make the trip and had to remain behind. I know, we were all sad too. While we were in Talkeetna, our friend rested on the couch. A knock came upon her door. It was her neighbor’s delivering freshly caught, vacuumed sealed…..you guessed it. Salmon.

As we four friends who served in the military together conversed about our day, our friend who remained behind, told us about her unexpected fish gifting neighbors. Knowing there was no way her and her hubby could eat all the salmon before they returned to their “winter home,” she graciously offered the salmon to us. Still sticking to my resolve of not bringing fish home, I was like, “I wouldn’t even know how to get that home.” Oh, but wait! Our other friend did. (Of course she did)

She had taken a trip months earlier to her parents house in OH and said her fish arrived just fine and dandy. She then relayed how she packed said fish and brought it as part of her carry on. Can you imagine? Fish going through airport security. Just no, and oy vey! Every excuse now burned to the ground. We each agreed to take some fish home.

The two of us who were traveling back to the lower 48 bought a small, collapsible freezer type bag. On the day we packed up our belongings to head to our perspective homes, our friend similarly wrapped up our freshly caught salmon as she did when she traveled to OH. She completed the job by adding a frozen bottle of water in each bag. We placed them in the freezer until we were ready to head out.

Our friend’s hubby, graciously put our bags in the vehicles and we were just about to leave and head over to a local farmer’s market when I looked at my other traveling fish carrying friend and I exclaimed…FISH. She looked all confused and repeated. Fish? I was like, FISHHHHHH!! And then we were both like, FISHHHHH. Literally like a scene out of a movie. I ran back inside the cabin and grabbed the frozen bags out of the freezer.

Whew! Crisis averted. I’m happy to report, my friend and I, or is that me and my friend’s package of fish made it home safely.

The other day, my son’s friend received all his fish, stuffed and frozen. I guess if God hears your heart about fish and He wants you to know He heard you, He’s gonna find a way to get you that dang fish.

In the mundane, never ever doubt where God can use you. It doesn’t have to be in the pulpit or center stage. Our God is in the details. My son’s friend wanted freshly caught salmon. What a trip it took to get him some. When it says God’s gone before you, He’s not kidding. Let’s sum this up.

One friend who said she’d NEVER go back to Alaska came up with the idea of this trip back in March.

One friend had already packed up fish and brought it safely to Ohio.

One friend sadly had to remain behind on our day trip to Talkeetna. (But, God used the reason for her staying behind)

Neighbors caught and delivered the fish.

As for me, the one who said she had no plans of bringing fresh fish home, God had other plans.

So there you have it. That’s how much God cares. It took some time for that whole story to play out. But it’s not about how long it took. It’s about working ALL things out. God was orchestrating a big story, with many players, for the love of all involved, for the good and the glory of His Kingdom.

As I heard it quoted, “Those who leave everything in God’s hand will eventually see God’s hand in everything.” ~ author unknown

Now, get about your mundane and watch God work! 🙌🏼❤️