A little while ago I had a teeny, tiny experience that changed my life.
How, when and where it happened were as important as the message itself. In fact, the Moment was the Message. (It was so-like-God-to-do-it-that-way.) This may require a disclaimer. We'll see.
I had purchased a rug at my favorite store, TJ Maxx. However, I needed another of the same rug or something similar to fill the space in an L-shaped hallway of my home. The preceding week had been outrageously busy. By the time Sunday rolled around I was exhausted. I'd worked 50+ hours including Saturday. I decided to skip church, take a nap, then head north to a second TJ Maxx where the second rug waited for me.
Throughout my life I have observed the Sabbath by, among other things, not going shopping. [There is the disclaimer. I had a feeling it was coming.] However, on this day I felt no guilt, no shame, no fear of "breaking the Sabbath." I was relaxed, happy, relieved to finally have one day free from any demands on my time. My heart was filled with gratitude for a day of rest. I felt unusually peaceful as I drove in the late afternoon with a spectacular autumn skyline to the west. The sun moved lower in the sky, shown through clouds, cast an amber glow across the valley.
To be perfectly honest, I don't remember what was on my mind when this happened. I only remember that it came out of the blue and knocked me right off whatever thought process had been running in my brain.
It's always difficult to describe these moments of personal revelation or enlightenment. And the message I received was not new. We've all heard this message our entire lives if we are Christian or religious or spiritual in any way. But I had never before KNOWN the truth of it in the way I do now. Again, it is difficult to articulate moments like this, but here is what came:
God has lovingly cared for me and watched over me in EVERY MOMENT of EVERY DAY of my life.
(I rarely use capital letters for emphasis, so this is really big.)
Every moment.
Every day.
Not one second has passed when God was not completely, utterly, intimately aware of me.
Not even a nanosecond. Nothing. No space in the time of my existence has been free of God's presence surrounding me. Not even now as I type this. Not last night while I slept or yesterday while I worked or went to school. Not when I sat at Mama Chu's waiting for take out. Not in the moment I called Lauren to see if I could stop and say hello to the grand babies on my way home. Not when I married the wrong person or when I was a child—alone and frightened in the world.
Never. Not ever.
It seems beautifully, divinely ironic—filled with evidence of the perfect way in which the Holy Spirit works—that this overwhelming and simple message came as I drove to a store. On a Sunday. In a moment of solitude, respite and even joy (if you know how I feel about TJ Maxx.) In my car. Northbound on I-15. I will never be the same.
God lovingly cares for and watches over each of us—everyone, everywhere in every moment.
I am still in awe. Thank you.
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| (click on this photo) courtesy of Luke Lewis |
I had purchased a rug at my favorite store, TJ Maxx. However, I needed another of the same rug or something similar to fill the space in an L-shaped hallway of my home. The preceding week had been outrageously busy. By the time Sunday rolled around I was exhausted. I'd worked 50+ hours including Saturday. I decided to skip church, take a nap, then head north to a second TJ Maxx where the second rug waited for me.
Throughout my life I have observed the Sabbath by, among other things, not going shopping. [There is the disclaimer. I had a feeling it was coming.] However, on this day I felt no guilt, no shame, no fear of "breaking the Sabbath." I was relaxed, happy, relieved to finally have one day free from any demands on my time. My heart was filled with gratitude for a day of rest. I felt unusually peaceful as I drove in the late afternoon with a spectacular autumn skyline to the west. The sun moved lower in the sky, shown through clouds, cast an amber glow across the valley.
To be perfectly honest, I don't remember what was on my mind when this happened. I only remember that it came out of the blue and knocked me right off whatever thought process had been running in my brain.
It's always difficult to describe these moments of personal revelation or enlightenment. And the message I received was not new. We've all heard this message our entire lives if we are Christian or religious or spiritual in any way. But I had never before KNOWN the truth of it in the way I do now. Again, it is difficult to articulate moments like this, but here is what came:
God has lovingly cared for me and watched over me in EVERY MOMENT of EVERY DAY of my life.
(I rarely use capital letters for emphasis, so this is really big.)
Every moment.
Every day.
Not one second has passed when God was not completely, utterly, intimately aware of me.
Not even a nanosecond. Nothing. No space in the time of my existence has been free of God's presence surrounding me. Not even now as I type this. Not last night while I slept or yesterday while I worked or went to school. Not when I sat at Mama Chu's waiting for take out. Not in the moment I called Lauren to see if I could stop and say hello to the grand babies on my way home. Not when I married the wrong person or when I was a child—alone and frightened in the world.
Never. Not ever.
God lovingly cares for and watches over each of us—everyone, everywhere in every moment.
3 comments:
Thanks for this post. I've had similar moments, one a few months ago while reading the story of the Jaredites and their need for light in their boats and I thought "Aha! He cares about even our tiniest needs, not just the big salvation-type-needs."
Enjoying your gratitude posts.
Thanks for reading Heather. . . and for your comment. God is good.
I'm so glad to see the Thank Yous reappear.
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