I know I may end up sounding like a broken record, but God. Is. Good. Maybe I’ve just trained myself to look for the different ways God has worked on my behalf, or maybe I’m a glass-half-full person. Whichever it is, I haven’t always been like this. There were times that I held the pity-parties (table for one, please), had the woe-is-me whine seeping out of my throat, and sincerely acted like everything was awful and would never improve. While my bottom lip never physically curled down, I still managed to trip over it a time or two. I was a short-sighted cry-baby to the tenth degree.
My husband was never like that. Sure, he had moments that he experienced the “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” syndrome, but he’s been a positive outlook kind of guy his whole life. Picture feathers getting ruffled and then relaxed just as quickly. When I was Miss Debbie-Downer (no offense to any Debbies!), I hated people like my husband. I didn’t understand them, I thought that they just didn’t care about things as much as I did, and I pictured that type to have the easy life because everything always just worked out perfectly for them. Oh how ignorant I was.
My husband did a lot of traveling before we started dating. In 2004, he lived off of peanut butter and honey sandwiches for a time so that he could stash his money away; saving for a world tour. He saved his money, made his plans, and booked his trip. I’m not sure how many countries he had on his agenda, but Central Europe in December/January was not on his schedule. He was looking forward to relaxing on the warm beaches of Southeast Asia.
Now my husband had prayed that God would protect him throughout his trip – keep him from harm and direct his steps. Something went wrong with his tickets or with the airlines, or with something in the bookings. Frustrations mounted and then grew when he found out he wasn’t going to be able to relax on any warm beaches, but would be spending Christmas in Germany. He was understandably upset, but there wasn’t anything he could do other then make the best of it. The day after Christmas, December 26, 2004, he heard news reports start to trickle in about a Tsunami that devastated many Asian countries – including the very beach he had been planning to pitch a tent on. And he was sitting safe in Germany.
As a married couple, we’ve experienced God paving the way for us a time or two. When we moved from Georgia to Alaska, we prayed that we wouldn’t get rained on (our belongings were in the back of the truck, covered with a tarp). At one point, traveling through a state that had been experiencing a drought, storm clouds came rolling in, but it didn’t rain on us – rather, it rained on either side of the road. I think less than a dozen drops hit our windshield from Georgia to Alaska. Once we unloaded the last box into the garage, it rained every day for the next two months. For other stories of the travel mercies we’ve experienced, check out my three-part series on being Forever Favored.
My husband recently started the long drive from Alaska to North Carolina, hauling the second and last load of our belongings. He’s driving a new truck, hauling a new trailer, and forgot to borrow a screwdriver to attach the license plate to the trailer. He was debating on stopping at a store to buy one, but really didn’t want to spend the money. While heading North, he pulled over to stretch his legs and do a walk around the rig. As he got out of the truck, something on the ground caught his eye – it was a nice screwdriver – just hanging out on the ground waiting for him next to the truck. When we spoke that night, he stated that he wasn’t concerned about the drive because God had provided a screwdriver. Something so small, something so seemingly insignificant (because it would have been an easy purchase to make) – God showed His favor even in such a small detail.
There have been many times that I’ve been plagued with the big things that were going wrong that even the small things tripped me up. Waking up late for school or work is really not huge unless it’s coupled with growing fractures in the family or grief from losing a loved one (or something of an equally or heavier magnitude). I look back on my life and can see times in which God protected me, shielded me, and flat out saved me. While in the thick of it, I was blinded to the good because I was so focused on the bad.
My husband could complain that he’s having to make the long drive (a bit outside the original plan). My husband could complain that he was delayed a full day getting through the border due to additional paperwork they decided to require. He could also complain that he missed out on spending Christmas and New Years camping out on the beach in Thailand during his global tour of 2004.
God is interested in the details. He has made it His business to pay attention to the little things and the big things. He knows they all matter to us – and they all matter in the grand scheme of things. It could be something as small as a fresh cup of coffee that you weren’t thinking you would be able to have, it could be something is small as finding a screwdriver – the very thing you were missing and needing. It could be something a little bigger like adjusting the weather, and it could be something big like redirecting your travel plans so you weren’t killed on a beach in a Tsunami.
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'” Psalm 91 (NIV)
We were pushing to get the last load of our belongings before tighter restrictions were put in place regarding the Canadian border. We also wanted to beat the change in weather that usually comes in October for Alaska. Even on this trip, God held the flurries back on the Kenai Peninsula (where he started his drive) till the day after he left. The little bit of snow they encountered proved to not be treacherous, and the roads showed improved maintenance. Finances lined up, work was patiently paused, landscaping was provided in my husband’s absence, and physical health had been restored. God is interested in the details – big and small and everything in between.
Pay attention to the details – look for the ways God provides in the big and small stuff. He’s there in all of it. What we choose to focus on makes the difference in our outlook. Are we going to focus on our Most High God, our refuge and fortress; our dwelling place and Savior? Or will we choose to be bummed about a missed beach trip? It’s up to us. How has God provided a screwdriver for you or saved you from a Tsunami? I would love to hear your stories. Leave a comment or send me an email (ohblessitgrace@gmail.com).