Have you ever heard of unintended consequences? Our actions can leave unintended negative consequences in the lives of others. But often it is just the opposite. God takes the good works he leads us to do and creates wonderful consequences that we never imagined. That’s when our unintended consequences become God’s intended work!

Just the other day a game of hopscotch produced one of these unintended consequences. Let me set the scene for you. One Sunday, a rather shy member, I’ll call him James, mustered the courage to ask for an appointment to share his burdens with me. He was in agony as he pressed each word out of his mouth. But the need for relief overwhelmed his misgivings. So we set the date for the following Tuesday.

When Tuesday morning came, the Lord laid on James a greater burden than he ever could have imagined. As James went to awaken a friend who was staying overnight, he found his friend dead.

This new burden outweighed his old ones ten to one. He was tempted to cancel his appointment but didn’t. He even arrived early. As he stood there waiting patiently, his eyes caught sight of a hopscotch game that had been sketched in a parking space earlier that day by one of our Lutheran elementary school children. This hopscotch game was a little different than most. Instead of numbers written in the blocks, there was a Bible verse. When you read all the blocks together, it said, “Carry each other’s burdens. Galatians 6:2”