God is in the details...

Do you ever wonder if God really cares about the details in your life? At some point, haven’t most of us thought that God was interested in the big things…like salvation, character-building, obedience, etc. but that He must view much of our “smaller stuff” as insignificant? If so, I want to help you change your mind.

Now granted, God does care about our salvation…so much so that He provided the only way possible for us to spend eternity with Him. He also cares about our character…if you doubt that, then you haven’t had someone cut you off in traffic, conversation or remuneration. And obviously, He wants us to be obedient because He wants what is best for us and who would know that better than the One Who created us?

So, that being said, why do I believe He cares about what we might consider “small stuff”? It sounds trite…I suppose, sometimes, truth does sound that way…but have you looked around you? Creation is no small thing but there are countless moments of joy in observing it. He has provided us a feast for all our senses and it’s ours for the taking…in big bites and in tasty morsels.

I want to tell you about something that some might consider a “small-thing” situation and I hope you will see God’s hand in it as clearly as I do…and I hope you will join me in praising Him for His love and caring for “small stuff”.

When we were State-side, one of the things I wanted to do was to find graduation gifts for our sixth graders at Los Cedros. Their graduation is the end of November and I want to make it special for them…hopefully, all will qualify. Now, I say that with mixed emotions. I want to see these kids successful and move on to the next grade. The downside of that is they will be leaving our school and going to the public school there in Los Cedros. That makes me sad on several different levels.

I was excited to find different graduation themed items on sale…things like treat bags, rubber bracelets with “Class of 2009” on them and a couple of other small things to stick in their graduation bags. But I was still looking for their main gift. Because of the number of kids in the class, I was trying to find things that were inexpensive but would still carry a message of value and caring to them. I have to ask the Lord to help me put a check on doing things like that as I could easily spend way more than I should. I guess that’s my love language…gifts…’cause I sure love giving them!

I visited all of my usual State-side bargain-hunting places but just couldn’t find the right gift for the girls. Then, I happened to get on-line and I visited Bath and Body Works website. I found the cutest little purse mirrors and matching coin purses. They were on clearance and I was thrilled. I was going to be able to get one of each for each of the girls and still stay within my budget! I ordered the amount I needed plus enough for gifts for the teachers at the school, Elizabeth and Mary, Freddy’s wife. The order came and they were perfect…just exactly what I was looking for!

Not that this has anything to do with the story, necessarily, but just so you know I didn’t forget the boys, Jim and I found small tri-fold Velcro billfolds for them. I plan on taking a picture of each of them plus one of the entire class and putting it in their billfolds as I will do with the girls coin purses. They will love this!

Well, when we got back from the States, first thing we did was to pass out all the gifts to everyone which included the mirrors and coin purses for Elizabeth, Mary and the teachers. Of course the graduating students won’t get theirs until November. I gave the teachers their gifts our first morning back at school…hours before my sixth grade class would start.
It was great seeing all the kids that day and as I was mobbed when I walked in to third grade, my first class of the day, it took me a few minutes to realize that there was a new student in class. We were well over halfway through the school year so I was a bit surprised but I didn’t think much more about it…until I walked in to my sixth grade class and there sat another new student, a sweet girl named Josseling! The fact that I wouldn’t have enough mirrors and coin purses for graduation hadn’t yet registered.

When that news bomb exploded in my head, I couldn’t get to the computer fast enough to get back on-line with Bath and Body Works. I had to order another mirror and coin purse! I think there was an audible thud when my hopes fell…the mirrors and coin purses were no longer on line. I was just sick.

I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and the words “Contact Us” fairly jumped out at me. I thought I would give it a shot and try e-mailing Customer Service to see if perhaps they could help me locate one more mirror and coin purse. I explained the situation and said that if they could locate a set for me and let me know how to pay for it (since it was no longer offered on-line), then I would have Mandy take care of that part. I also mentioned that since we had a team coming the end of September, that someone could bring them down to me so that I would have them in time for graduation.

When I got a response from B&BW, it was a “canned” response, basically telling me that if I wanted a charitable contribution, then I needed to submit the request along with a tax-exempt number to the appropriate department. What??? I hadn’t asked for a charitable contribution…I had asked to buy one more mirror and coin purse. I hate to admit it, but it irritated me that the person who had responded to my request, obviously hadn’t even read it all the way through.
So…I replied by e-mailing again. This time, I said that I thought there had been a misunderstanding and that I wasn’t asking for any type of contribution but that I would appreciate that whoever would receive my e-mail would at least read it all the way through…that it was very important for me to try to locate one more mirror and coin purse. I really didn’t expect to hear anything any different.

But, I did. I received a very nice apology from someone else in Customer Service for the initial response. As I read on, I was hoping that she was going to tell me how I could go about purchasing the needed items. That didn’t happen. Instead, after the very nice apology, which wasn’t necessary but appreciated, she told me that those items were clearance items and no longer available. That time, the thud was even louder…and it reverberated all the way through me. I wanted to just sit there and bawl.

I didn’t know what I was going to do. I thought I could probably find another small mirror and I could find another little coin purse but the thing was it was going to be different. That part, I hated. I wanted Josseling’s things to be the same as the other girls. I didn’t want there to be any misconstrued sense of favoritism regardless which form it would take…whether the other girls might think Josseling had received something “better” or whether Josseling might think she had received something “less”. I know this may seem like a big deal over something that you may not think is terribly important…but it is going to be important to Josseling and the rest of the girls. Life here is filled with disappointment…and that’s not always a bad thing. I just didn’t want this to be one of those lessons.

I was at a complete loss. I sat there just staring at the computer. I took a deep breath and then began to pray. I told God that I just didn’t know what to do and I needed Him to do what no one else could do…and that was find a mirror and coin purse for Josseling. And then, I did something I rarely do…I quit worrying about it.

Several days later, I received yet another e-mail from someone at Bath and Body Works. She told me that my e-mail had crossed her desk and that the items were indeed seasonal items and had been discontinued. She also told me that she had called several of their outlet stores and had located the mirrors and a different coin purse (but one that would work) at an outlet store in Wisconsin. She also personally called Mandy and gave her the info so that Mandy could call the store in Wisconsin and order the items. I was absolutely shocked! I had received an e-mail from an angel…I just knew it! Whether celestial or earthly, it didn’t matter, in my eyes, she was definitely an angel! I could feel those pesky tears starting to well up again…this time in awe of how much the Lord of the universe cared about a mirror and a coin purse for a little sixth grade girl in Nicaragua. I immediately replied to the e-mail with a very heartfelt thank you.

Are you wowed yet? If not…think about it for a bit. And if so…wait…this gets better. This special lady from B & BW, whose name is Pat, then sent me another e-mail a few days later, apologizing for not being able to find the exact coin purse I wanted! She also said she wanted to make me her Customer of the Week and send me a coupon for 40% off my next purchase in a Bath and Body Works store! This woman was going above and beyond what I could have ever imagined! Can you believe it?

I felt great pangs of guilt for my initial irritation with my first encounter with the Customer Service department. I sure didn’t deserve the coupon…nor would I be able to use it. Managua’s malls are seriously lacking such businesses and we won’t be back in the States until next March. I e-mailed another thank you…e-mails just can’t adequately convey the depth of gratitude...and I explained our situation to Pat and asked her if it would be possible to transfer that coupon over to Mandy since she was having to take care of all our State-side business…plus, after having our 5th grandchild, I thought she merited a little piece of pampering. Pat graciously agreed and said she would send the coupon out to Mandy and told me that if I needed help in the future that she would be glad to help me.

I was still basking in the glow of God’s answer when I received yet another e-mail from Pat…this one came today and is the one that prompted me to tell this story. Our God never does anything halfway and this is a perfect example of how much He cares about the details. First of all, remember what I had prayed? That God would find a coin purse and mirror for me. And remember that Pat had told me she had found a small bag that she thought would work although it wasn’t the exact coin purse I had asked for? Well, today, Pat e-mailed me to let me know that she had found six of the EXACT coin purses that I needed and that she had them sent to Mandy! Josseling is going to have a coin purse and mirror after all…just like the other girls! You are going to have a hard time convincing me that God doesn’t care about the “little things”…especially when those little things are big things to His children.

I’ve not asked Pat if she’s a Christian but I hope so. I would hate to think that someone who doesn’t know the Lord would be such a great example of how a believer is supposed to be. I also am hoping that I will get to meet her face to face in heaven some day and thank her for being such an integral part of God answering a specific prayer. I want to ask her how God prompted her heart and what made her go the extra mile…no, that’s not right…the extra miles, to help someone receive discontinued, inexpensive clearance items.

I have been wondering whose day I would make if I was that responsive to the needs God puts before me through those who cross my path each day. I wonder if I could be the tool God uses to help someone else know that He cares about the details and the “small stuff” in their life…
A closing thought – Jill, a friend of mine from Cassville, sent me an inspirational e-mail a few days ago. At the bottom of it was something that caught my eye and has been playing over and over in my head. It said, “Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.” Thought-provoking, huh? I’m betting Pat is a woman who is willing to move her feet!