“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:14-15

When I created the post that was nine posts back titled “Opportunity”, I did not yet have the understanding that it should have been “Opportunities”. The post was written because I discovered that the shower in my bathroom had cracks in the wall. The Lord was teaching me something new and so when I responded at first with anger and fear He shared with me a better way. He showed me in situations like this to respond by asking this question instead. What is the opportunity here? I am on the other side now and my new shower has been installed. It is so beautiful and I am so thankful for it.

In the process of buying and installing the new shower, I learned that it’s not just an opportunity but opportunities. I would like to share with you the opportunities that came out of just that one situation. It was an opportunity to: 

Humble myself to receive the gift of money to pay for the project. 

Be a witness to my handyman who installed the shower.

Get educated on taking my old shower out and installing the new one. 

Exercise faith over fear. 

Experience joy over anger. 

Now something happened just as my handyman was trying to install the last step, the glass doors. They didn’t fit! The Home Improvement Store sold me the wrong size door. Because this was not found out until this point both the door and the walls are now damaged and unusable. I will have to have new ones. I went to the store and showed them what happened and they saw clearly it was their fault. They would only give me a new set of doors and walls. They would not cover the cost of the labor for my handyman which was $600 up to that point. It made me sick.

This was a situation I did not ask for, did not create and I could do nothing to change it. But at that moment I knew what I had to do. I had to fix my eyes on Him, stay in peace and ask the question again, “What are the opportunities here?” So here is the next set of opportunities that came after the mistake was made.

By faith and grace pay $600 for labor for a shower I can’t use.

Show peace and the right attitude in my reaction to a very hard situation in front of my handyman.

Show grace and mercy to those working the customer service counter at the Home Improvement Store. After all, they can only do what corporate allows them to do.

Stay in peace. Don’t try to figure the situation out. Allow God to have His way.

The last opportunity was a wonderful surprise! My handyman also plows in the winter. He lives not even a mile from my home. He will be plowing my driveway for the winter. This is a huge blessing.

After walking through the project and experiencing all the opportunities, I was shocked. All along the way I saw opportunities of “blessings”. I am so saddened when I look back at all the opportunities in the past that I missed because I chose anger, fear and control in my situations.     

What a difference it makes to keep my eyes on Him in what He is saying and doing in all situations.