I’m sitting in bed looking at four panels of pinned together curtains that not only need to be sewn together but desperately need hemming. In America, I’d have solved this problem quickly. But in Korea, it’s not that simple. I’ve considered taking them to the seamstress down the road, except for the fact that we can’t communicate and she determines when she’ll have my items ready. If I’m lucky it’s the next day. If not, it’s over a week. I need them immediately in order to sleep and have privacy in our bedroom, so I’ve left them the way they are hoping I’ll come up with a better solution.
It may seem that I don’t have anything important to pray about since I’ve asked God to help me figure out my curtain dilemma. But, it’s part of bigger issue in my life that I’m learning to lean on him for the simple and seemingly irrelevant things. In fact, it’s the “small stuff” that consumes most of my mental energy as I find myself mulling over solutions. “Dear Lord, will you please give me wisdom about what to do with these curtains?” That was my prayer last week. Three days later I received a promised sewing machine from a friend. This wasn't so unusual since she’d offered it to me months ago. But the amazing part was that she included an industrial sized spool of chocolate brown thread with the comment, “I don’t know what you’re ever going to do with this, but I decided at the last minute to throw it in.” What she didn’t know was that my curtains were the same color, and I’d been wondering where on earth around here to find thread, much less brown. God had answered my prayers.
My husband is the more logical one in the family. He enjoys using deductive reasoning to move from one argument to the next. I’m not so great at it. But I do like the idea of seeing God’s faithfulness in the small things and applying logic to larger issues of life. If he knows when a hair falls from my head then he certainly knows when I have a severe illness. If he cares that I’m burdened with unsightly curtains, then he’s all the more concerned when I have a huge burden.
Today, I’m reminded that the God who made me and upholds the world is a God of detail – a God who sees a sparrow when it dies (Mt 10:29) and stores my teardrops in a bottle (Ps 56:8). I’m thankful for his acts of kindness as he takes care of every single aspect of my life – even the “stuff” others consider insignificant.
“And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” (Lk 12:7)
