My Chocolate Miracle

“But my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
~ Philippians 4:19

God has promised to supply all our needs, but He does so much more. He knows us by name, He knows what makes us smile, and He knows how to surprise us with unexpected bounty.

My story is about chocolate. I’ve this love-love relationship with chocolate. There’s no love-hate relationship here. It’s all love-love. What possibly could there be to hate about chocolate? (If you have an answer for that, please, I do not need enlightening on this matter.)

I think I’ve made my point. I love chocolate and giving up my chocolate fix will always be a calculated decision. It’s a rare occasion, but it has been known to happen.

One of those rare occasions was when we were missionaries in a remote jungle village. A recent move there, building a house, and medical bills from the birth of our twins (compounded by our oldest son needing a surgery shortly after)—these life events had depleted our meager resources. Money had been tight, but the scales were now tipped to the critically tight category. There was only one solution. There was only one budget line that was negotiable. Food.

As I filled out our monthly food order, I slashed all non-necessities or high-priced items. Despite the fact that the irrational side of my brain tried to convince the rational side that chocolate was a definite necessity, it was not. The rational side won and chocolate was slashed from the order followed by a deep sigh of “sacrifice.”

The order arrived. A relatively bland order. No real treats. But, we weren’t going to starve, we had a roof over our heads, and we weren’t incurring debt. We were doing what was necessary and right.

Did you know God cares about our chocolate fixes? I didn’t. Not until that day.

As I got to the bottom of the order, lo and behold, there was a box of chocolate bars. You know, the type they use in displays on the shelves. I wondered if the irrational side of my brain had somehow tricked the rational side into putting it on the order. But no, that had not happened. The invoice clearly showed I had not ordered chocolate bars, nor had I paid for chocolate bars—but here they were just the same. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

As the story unfolded, we found out a fellow missionary—who had NO idea about my dire situation of giving up my beloved chocolate!–had sent them out to us. Now, who do you think laid that upon their hearts? Not just that month, but each month until I was able to order chocolate again myself?

God did. God laid it on their hearts. It was as if God was saying, “See, I care about more than just your needs. I care about you, about your family—and even about your chocolate cravings. You may be miles of jungle away from civilization, but I’m right here with you. Enjoy the chocolate.”

Okay, it wasn’t an audible voice, but it was love in action. It may have been something small and insignificant to another, but for me, in that moment in time, it was my chocolate miracle.