Here’s a true story that needs a bit of background.

A few months ago Maggie and one of her co-workers at Wheaton Youth Outreach decided to volunteer at the DuPage County Convalescent Center one Sunday morning a month. Every Sunday some volunteers run a church service for the residents of the Center. Maggie and her coworker have the responsibility of assisting residents who want to attend the service from their rooms to the chapel. The whole deal is pretty cool and Maggie comes home from the Center very energized.

That’s the background. On Sunday she came back and told me about her experience with one particular resident, a 94 year old woman who can- at times- be feisty. Maggie spent a good bit of her morning assisting this woman: helping her to the cafeteria, getting her coffee, sitting and talking with her, and eventually getting her to the service.

Quick tangent- during the service the chaplain served communion. Because many of the residents are unable to feed themselves, he had cut small pieces of bread and stuck them with toothpicks. While serving communion he would take a piece of bread, dip it in the juice, and then place it in the resident’s mouth. The volunteers were also served this way and Maggie said it was a fairly profound experience, where for a few minutes everyone in the room was on the same level.

Anyway, after the service Maggie helped her new friend back to the lunch table and helped her get settled. After they talked for a few minutes the woman told Maggie how thankful she was for all Maggie did to help her that morning. Then, and I’m not making this up, the woman took Maggie’s hands, looked her in the eyes, and said,

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

And then she kissed my wife’s hands. I get chills every time I think about it.

I know it’s a cliché, but it seems that often when we serve and love those around us we encounter unexpected blessings. I know Maggie well enough to know she shows up once a month not because she expects this kind of blessing. She shows up because she’s learned to love the residents. She shows up because she has a sense that Jesus deeply loves those at the Center. Even so, I think we catch a glimpse of the character of God when we are surprised by those moments of blessing while we serve.

Here’s wishing for some unexpected blessings for you as you serve this week.