His BIGNESS in the little things ...

I am marvelling at the hugeness of our awesome God and just how real He is in our every-day lives. If we are honest, there are times when we question just how real or personal God really is. Lately, I am seeing His desire for intimacy (up-close-and-personal) wherever I turn. 

A few weeks ago, while I was in a rush to get to church, I was trying to put on a special necklace from a friend and in my crazy rush, the cross dropped off the chain and I couldn't find it. I looked around and just could not see it anywhere. I raced out the door determined to find it on my return. Well ... after a full evening at church, when I got home, I forgot all about my cross. The next day, our precious domestic cleaner (Cynthia - oh how I love her!!!) was on duty and she vacuumed nice and thoroughly and only at the very end of the day I remembered the cross that had dropped on the floor! With a sinking feeling I knew what had happened ... the little cross had been vacuumed and the dirty water thrown down the drain. It was gone! I looked around anyway - but knew the inevitable.  

Three weeks went by (with lots of vacuuming in-between) and we were on our way to church again. That evening, 3 men shared about how the Lord had encouraged them through the recent Iron Man competition. They are all new believers and this was their first race as believers. They were having the hardest race and were all on the verge of giving up when they all happened to bump into one another on the last leg of the race. They had 42km to run (which they were walking by this point) and they were in the loneliest part of the run where there are no supporters to cheer them on as the area is totally cordoned off. They started to encourage each others with the verses that each of them had found at the start of the race. They decided to call themselves the God-team and were determined to finish the race together. They had 2 more laps to go. When they got to the second lap in that same deserted section, something caught their eyes. There were 3 new sign boards up where there had been nothing on the first lap. They all found that odd as no-one could get there to put them up. As they walked close enough to read them ... each board held the verses that they had each shared with one another!!! That was the fuel for the fire that they needed! They finished that race strong all arm in arm like true brothers knowing that God loved them so much that He had been doing that race with them all along and even giving them personal encouragement at their lowest moment. They have come into a whole new place in their walk with God, having encountered His PERSONAL love for each of them.

I came home just soaring!! There is nothing more delightful than seeing someone come alive in their relationship with the Lord - seeing their eyes open to the truth of His ever present presence. As I came home and put my jewelry on my mantel piece I saw my empty little chain and missed that little cross and in my mind giggled to God the next morning - well if you can send angels to put up sign boards then surely you could direct them to that little old cross of mine. It was just a fleeting thought and then I moved on with my day. Well,  that night as I was taking off my jewelry again to put it on the mantelpiece, there out of the blue sat my little cross! I was shocked speechless!!! I knew it wasn't there in the morning, because as I looked longingly at my empty chain, there was nothing on that mantle piece. I went to my husband and asked him if he had found it and he had not. I KNEW it was my awesome God. I could just sense His delight!! Now I know how the woman in the parable about the lost coin felt!! It was so much more than just having my little lost cross back. It was that GOD had lavished His love on me to see my delight :-) To be sure, I took the cross to my domestic worker and asked her if she had found it and she assured me that she had not! Oh How He loves us!!! And if you are reading this today - know that our God is no respecter of persons. He longs to show you the richness of His love. He wants you to know how personally invested He is and how interested He is in your life!!!!! May you be encouraged and may your faith be stirred by the depths of His interest in you.