Read: Ephesians 3:14-21

Mariah was glad to finally be back home. Her mom had wanted to get her and her twin brothers away from the house while a landscaper was working in their backyard, and they had spent the whole day just trying to kill time.

She was helping her little brother out of their van when she heard her mom let out a shriek. She scooped Reggie into her arms and took off for the backyard.

“Are you okay?” Mariah ran to her mom’s side. She was pretty sure she saw tears in her mom’s eyes. “What happened? Did you get stung?” She could hear a bee buzzing.

Mom shook her head. “Nothing bad happened. I’m just…I’m really surprised at what I see. Everything is so beautiful.”

Mariah looked out at the yard as her brother squirmed out of her arms. There were flowers everywhere, and there were tiny stones on the ground, making paths that the twins seemed excited to try out. Everything did look really nice.

“I can’t believe they did all this,” Mom said. “We didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but they seemed to figure out a way to make my dreams come true anyway.”

“You’re crying.” Mariah looked up at her mom.

“I’m happy,” Mom said. “If I have tears, it’s because I didn’t know I could have a yard this beautiful.”

Mariah smiled. “Pastor John was talking about something like this on Sunday. He said God does more than we ask Him to do, surprising us with the way He works and all that He accomplishes.”

Mom nodded. “God did more than we could ever imagine when He sent His own Son to save us by dying for our sins, and He blesses us in other ways that go beyond anything we could even think to ask for. The team we had working out here did a good job of showing us what that can look like.”

“I’m happy the yard is everything you wanted it to be.” Mariah wrapped her arms around her mom. They had been through some tough times together, and she really wanted her mom to be happy. “And I’m glad God loves us and promises to do great things for us too.”

–Emily Acker

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