Life rarely turns out as we thought it would. Sports aren’t any different. It may be fun to dream of the players we could be, but things do not always turn out as planned. Sometimes it’s hard to see, but looking back we realize it all worked for the best. I am glad for the things that are not as I had intended, because I would have missed a lot.

God does not often work in the ways we may think He would. He works beyond them. He does not fit in the box in which we are prone to put Him. In fact, He seems to do what does not make sense. The Savior of the world came as an infant, became a carpenter, rode on a donkey, served alongside fishermen, and died alongside criminals.

Yet, it was this carpenter who gave sight to the blind, fed thousands with a few loaves, and raised people from the dead. Talk about a story that was not as one might predict. In fact, it was so far from what the Pharisees thought it would be or should be that they missed it. They missed their Savior. How often do we miss the thing that could save us because it doesn’t look as we think it should? Wrapped up in pain and disappointment, we miss our opportunity for something better. Don’t miss your opportunity for joy—it’s probably riding on the trial at your feet.