Undesired Blessings

John and Jenny lived as most Americans; an average house, average yard, average careers, and average friends. They were your typical young fresh out of college couple; ready to take on the world. They had both come from apparently Christian homes, and thus they both sought to be blessed by God.

One day out of the blue John was approached by a stranger, that claimed God had instructed him to give John a large some of money. Not knowing this guy from Adam, John quickly turned down the offer. When he got home that evening he told Jenny about the offer he had been approached with. Jenny could not believe it, just this morning; she had similarly been approached by a woman telling her the exact same thing.

They were both struck with the possibility that someone wanted to financially bless them, but even more so they were concerned that they were the target of some type of fraud. They decided that the best thing to do would be to contact the authorities to see if they had received any complaints about this couple. John was sure that the police would inform him of how wise he was to have avoided these known frauds. That is why he was taken back to learn that he and Jenny were apparently the only ones confronted by this couple. Again he shrugged it off as an attempt at being taken advantage of, and prided himself that he was wise enough to make the right decision.

A few months latter John and Jenny were at the local shopping center, and decided to make a stop in the restroom before heading home. As Jenny was washing her hands, this same woman from months earlier approached her and again gave her the same spill as earlier. That God had spoken to her and told her to give Jenny a large some of money. Jenny did not know what to do, but she knew she did not like being in here alone with this woman. There were questions she wanted to ask, but they were overpowered by her desire to get out of the situation. Thinking quickly she said hold on let me get my husband and ran out.

As Jenny bolted from the bathroom, she found John standing there waiting, and told him what had just happened. John instructed her to go to the security desk and get an officer, and he would stand guard outside the restroom. With Jenny out of site, and John’s eyes glued to the bathroom door, he failed to realize that he had been approached by the man that had made him the offer. As the stranger spoke, John turned quickly around to find himself eye to eye with the companion of the woman he was guarding. Without hesitation the man went into his spill about wanting to bless John with a large sum of money. John began to grow angry and demand to know what was going on, and why his wife had been confronted in the bathroom. The stranger looked as if though he had no clue about the bathroom encounter and asked John to clarify. John turned to the door and began to shout and point, then turned back to find only Jenny and a security guard standing there. He informed the guard of what had just happened, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, if we can get his friend, well get him. With that the guard entered the restroom, only to return empty handed.

How could this be thought John as he had watched the only door the whole time. Then it hit him that when he turned to address the stranger that the woman must have slipped out. Man these people really were in league together, and worse than that they seemed wise and determined.

Jenny brushed off the first encounter, but now she realized that this couple was not going away. The scared couple talked all evening about what they could do. They had thought that they would be safe in their average lifestyle, and average neighborhood, but decided they should take some extra precautions in order to prevent this couple from getting to them. The next day, they were having a state of the art alarm system installed.

Still uneasy with the thought of encountering this couple again, they decided that carrying some form of emergency protection when they were not near there protected home was definitely needed. With concealed weapon permit and gun in tow, along with a nice alarm system at home, the two felt properly prepared if there ever was to be a next encounter.

Weeks went by, then months, and even a few years, and not one sign of the strangers had crossed their paths since that day in the mall. Honestly it had been well over two years since John or Jenny either one had even thought about their strange encounters. That is until one day as they were sitting in a local fast food chain, and out of no where the unknown man approached their table and without invitation sat down beside John immediately entering into the same spill about wanting to bless them with cash. With in seconds, the lady from the restroom was sitting beside Jenny. The stranger insisted that he meant no harm, and just asked that John listened. He began to tell John of how he had gotten his fortune, and that it was all he lived for, and then one day he had an encounter with the Lord, and was instructed to give large sums of money to a select few men. The lady began telling Jenny the same thing. It was then that they discovered that the two strangers had never even met one another. As they talked on, the strangers began to seem less and less harmful, and more and more sincere.

Finally it was John who ended the conversation with a no thank you. The stranger pressed John for a reason for turning down such a blessing. John’s answer was it’s just not the right time. It was the end of the year, and he was afraid that the so called blessing would cause financial disaster on his tax return. They thanked the couple and politely left.

John and Jenny told their friends and family about the offer, and were met with questions as to why not accept the blessing. There response was that it was no one else’s business. This was a decision was between the two of them and no one else need
Concern themselves with it.

Through the years the strangers would confront them every few months, and as always John and Jenny informed them not now. Then out of the blue John lost one of the things he valued most; his job. He tried and tried, but there was no work in his field to be found. Quickly the bills mounted up along with stress and tension between the two. Finally John and Jenny agreed that the next time the strangers offered their blessings, they would eagerly accept. They waited, and waited, but they never saw or heard from this couple. For over twenty five years they had been offered to be blessed, but out of sometimes selfishness, and other times fear they had always turned it down. Now, in need of the blessing they have found out the hard way that it was too late.

They were eventually evicted from there house, and lived out the rest of there lives in and out of poverty, until they finally died penniless in a state run retirement home.

You see John and Jenny had discussed taking the money only when they felt the time was right. The problem was the time was never right. Most of us would look at John and Jenny and say “you fools take the money.” We see no problem in accepting it and fully would acknowledge it to be rude to turn down such a blessing. Why is it rude and foolish to turn down financial blessings, but perfectly acceptable and almost commendable to turn down the blessings of children? Sadly many a couple have turned down this blessing time and time again, only to find out as did John and Jenny that when you are ready to receive, the offer has already expired.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Psa 127:3-5)