In the March 15 edition of the Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional, Chuck Swindoll writes: "It had been a long time since Horace Walpole smiled. Too long. Life for him had become as drab as the weather in dreary old England. Then, on a grim winter day in 1754, while reading a Persian fairy tale, his smile returned. He wrote his longtime friend, Horace Mann, telling him of the "thrilling approach to life" he had discovered from the folk tale.
"The ancient tale told of three princes from the island of Ceylon who set out on a pursuit of great treasures. They never found that for which they searched, but en route they were continually surprised by delights they had never anticipated. While looking for one thing, they found another.
"The original name of Ceylon was Serendip, which explains the title of this story -- 'The Three Princes of Serendip.' From that, Walpole coined the wonderful word 'serendipity.' And from then on, his most significant and valued experiences were those that happened to him while he was least expecting them.
"Serendipity occurs when something beautiful breaks into the monotonous and the mundane. A serendipitous life is marked by "surprisability" and spontaneity. When we lose our capacity for either, we settle into life's ruts. We expect little and we're seldom disappointed.
"Though I have walked with God for several decades, I must confess I still find much about Him incomprehensible and mysterious. But this much I know: He delights in surprising us. He dots our pilgrimage from earth to heaven with amazing serendipities."
Call them blessings. Call them what you want. I like that word: serendipity. It helps me with something I have a hard time with: spontaneity (I like things planned). Seeing the spontaneous and serendipitous things that come from God is an amazing blessing!
1 comment:
My life has never gone as planned... it has gone far, far better than I could ever have planned. God is full of surprises, isn't He? Great post. I didn't know about that story before.
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