mistake

My mother's father worked as a carpenter.  On this particular day, he was
  building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to orphanages
  in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his
  glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier
  actions, he realized what had happened; the glasses had slipped out of his
  pocket unnoticed and fallen in one of the crates, which he had nailed
  shut.

  His brand new glasses were heading for China! The Great Depression was at
  it's height and Grandpa had six children. He had spent $50 for those
  glasses that very morning.  He was upset by the thought of having to buy
  another pair.  "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in
  frustration. "I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to
  your work, and now this."

  Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the United
  States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China,
  so he came to speak one Saturday at my grandfather's small church in
  Chicago. The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithful-
  ness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he said, "I must
  thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had
  just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my
  glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no
  way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well,
  I experienced headaches every day, so my co-workers and I were much in
  prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the
  covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top."

  The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still
  gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued, "Folks, when I tried
  on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just for me!
  I want to thank you for being a part of that." The people listened,
  happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have
  confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses
  on their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in the
  back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter
  realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.

  There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking Him! Perhaps
  it is something we ought to try more often, "Thank you God for not
  allowing my car to start this morning." He may have been saving your
  life from a car accident.  May God bless your day today.  Look for
  the perfect mistakes.

  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
  God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)