Now when the boy went down to wash his feet in the river, a large fish suddenly leaped out of the water and tried to swallow his foot. He shouted in alarm. But the angel said to him, "Take hold of the fish and don't let it get away!" The boy seized the fish and hauled it up on the shore. (Tobit 6: 3-4)

This is, at least in part, a story of how God responds to prayer. Grief and insults have led both Tobit and Sarah to seek death. God has heard them. God is taking action.

This is how a prince of heaven, the Archangel Raphael, and Tobit's son happen to take a journey. Tobit and his son believe the journey's purpose is to retrieve money. God has another purpose.

Sarah does not - yet - have any evidence that God is taking action.

On the first evening of their journey Tobiah's purpose is to wash his feet. God brings another - surprising and slightly weird - purpose to Tobiah's actions.

When we consider a starry sky, a roiling sea, or even a nearby meadow is it a surprise when the Creator weaves a beautifully complicated design? The evidence suggests that God delights in elaborate, if still subtle, solutions.