I stared at the piece of coal.

This was the answer?

I had prayed, after all, with great earnestness, even invoking the name of Jesus, the solution I thought best. This was not what should’ve happened. Was this some kind of joke?

I’m not laughing, God.

Brokenness and discouragement seeped into my soul. Then, loneliness joined the twosome. Life slid to a stop. The future seemed dark and cold and void.

I don’t deserve this! My whole being screamed. I wanted to fling that chunk of disappointment far from sight.

It’s OK. I’ve got this, sounded softly in my ear. The coal is a gift.

Unsure if I agreed, I turned the coal over and over. God was in the habit of blessing us with more than our wants. He always gave us just what we needed. Here in the midst of my misery, He had not delivered the answer I had devised, but rather the one that would bring the greatest treasure.

I clutched the coal close to my heart. After all, this bit of blackness was how all diamonds started out. In the end, a precious gem would be produced, valuable and full of sparkle.

Thanks for the present, God. It’s beautiful.

“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.

Isaiah 55:8-9