I See Him in Everything

I know that is not politically correct but it's true. Lately, well actually ALWAYS, God has been gracious to me in the little things. I have been trying to practice praying about situations and giving them into His hands instead of trying to bear burdens on my own and FREAKING out when I fail miserably in my burden bearing. These are things that are never mentioned to a living soul just stewing around in my mind. Let me give you some examples:

~Yesterday we welcomed into our home another young man straight off the plane from China. He is jet-lagged and exhausted. Before he came I just sat down and prayed that through his stay in our home he would see God. I prayed for wisdom in my dealings with him. I prayed that with the language barrier we would both have patience and not get frustrated and I prayed for many other little things. The first answer to my prayers was the moment he arrived. Not only did he arrive but a friend of his who is from his home town and has been in Vancouver for 6 months showed up as well. So the little explanations of how the house works etc. were SO EASY because his friend could translate! I was SO thankful. Now this may seem small to you...but let me tell you it saved us and him a lot of time. Another simple thing...he actually speaks enough English to make it workable to explain things to him about things like breakfast this morning. Our last Chinese guy has not one speck of English so asking him what he wanted for breakfast was a chore. Not only does he speak enough English he is very kind. There is also a sweetness about him that is refreshing. When you have someone come and live with you there is always a question. What will he be like? Will he be OK to have in our home and be around the girls? Being raised in such a different culture and mindset how will this work? It works. People are people where ever they are as Dr. Suez says.

~Last Thursday Mercedes was slated to get her cast off. I was concerned about this because they use a little saw and she would have FREAKED and not done well with that. So I just prayed. And Thursday morning she came into my room and said ," Look mom I took off my cast!" I laughed and laughed. Not only was it REALLY funny because of how she did it but it saved us getting the cast sawn off (she put her arm between her feet and pushed it off with her feet).

~The last little while I have been looking at scarves thinking that I would like some to wear. I don't know why really but I did. I did not have any. I had been looking at the ones from the middle east and the silk ones. I did not mention this to anyone it was just a thought I had. Well for my birthday Shaun's parents gave me a scarf from Israel that his dad brought back from one of his trips there. Then yesterday our new student arrived bearing gifts. And wouldn't you know that his home town is known for their silk...he brought us SO MUCH silk. There were among the gifts (from his mother) 4 beautiful 100% silk scarves. I layed them out of my bed and just looked at them and thanked God that He cared enough about the tiny unnecessary things in my mind to not only have them given to me but brought from the far reaches of the earth straight into my hands. It was a little "I love you" note from God to me.

These are a very few examples of late. They have been a balm to my soul. They speak to me abundantly about the character and grace of my King of Kings, about the God of the Angel armies and I find great solice and hope in that.

Psalm 3:3 (New International Version)
"But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head."

Psalm 68:19 (New International Version)
19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

Matthew 6:25-29 (The Message Translation)

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them."