Daily Guideposts 2016: 7-Day Reading PlanSample

The waiting room was packed. I’d driven my eighty-three-year-old grandmother, Marge, and her sister, Virginia, to their follow-up appointments for cataract surgery.

We found chairs together on the back wall. A complimentary coffee bar was at the end of our row. I went to the counter and poured three cups. When I turned around, Grandma Marge was by my side. I figured she wanted to stir in sugar or creamer. Instead, she grabbed the carafe and carried it around, refreshing the cups of others who waited. My heart was warmed by her hospitality.

Moments later, the sisters went into the exam room. Busying myself with a magazine, I heard a shuffling sound near me. Gazing up, I saw a man making his way to the now-vacant chairs in my row.

I need another cup of coffee, I thought. Immediately a second thought followed: Ask him if he wants some.

The man sat directly in front of the coffee area. I got up and walked over. “May I pour you a cup while I’m here?” I asked.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. “Fill it halfway—don’t want to spill.”

I offered him the cup. He lifted both of his hands to take it, and I saw that his forefingers and thumbs were fused together and his remaining three fingers merged into a vee shape. Our eyes met. “Thank you,” he whispered as I gingerly placed the cup between his hands. “Don’t often get the opportunity to drink coffee. Pot’s too wide for my grasp.”

Back in my chair, I heard God’s voice: You won’t always understand why I ask you to do things, but know there’s always a reason.

Thank You, God, for the much-needed lesson that obedience to You is more important than understanding why.

—Stephanie Thompson

Digging Deeper: Exodus 4:12; 1 Samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 7:23, 26:13