Silly as a Sidewalk

For the last five years I have been working on building a flagstone pathway in our back yard.  So far, I have finished about 112 feet of it, and I have about 18 feet left to do.  Part of the delay in getting it finished is our South Texas weather, part of it is my refusal to work outside when it is too hot, too humid, too cold, too windy, too… whatever.  But just a few weeks ago my husband and I decided it was time to sell the house.  We are getting older, it is getting harder and harder for us to keep up with the yard work, and the house it too big for us, so we plan to downsize.  So, that decision put a lot of pressure on me to finish my project.  This spring has brought record rainfall, so it has been almost impossible to work on the sidewalk most days.  A couple of weeks ago, though, we had almost an entire week without rain.  Aside from the heat and humidity, it was just about perfect weather for working on my sidewalk – that is, as long as I could get started very early in the morning before the heat was unbearable.  Did I mention that I am NOT a morning person?  I am usually pretty slow getting started in the mornings, unless I have somewhere I need to go.  I had to get up early when I was working, but now that I am retired, I like to indulge myself by sleeping late on those days when I can.  That particular Friday, a couple of weeks ago, I had an appointment at 11:00 a.m., so I knew that if I was going to work on the sidewalk, I would need to get started no later than 7:30 a.m.  I could work for two hours then get cleaned up in time to make my appointment.  I had my alarm set for 7:30, but that doesn’t mean much, since I don’t have a problem hitting the snooze button when I really don’t want to get up.  That day I didn’t even need the alarm.  I woke up about 6:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I eventually got up, and I was dressed and out in the back yard, working with the flagstone by 7:30.  To my amazement, the breeze was cool, the pieces of rock fit together a lot more easily than usual, and instead of my usual three feet of sidewalk in two hours, I was able to finish about four feet by the time I had to quit.

As I was getting ready for my appointment, I was thanking God for getting me up, giving me a beautiful cool morning, and making my work go smoothly so that I could make more progress than I expected.  I became giddy with the thought that Our Sovereign, Holy God, Creator of the universe, Sustainer of all life, even cares about something as silly as a sidewalk.  I was reminded that we are instructed to look for, notice, and acknowledge His activity in and around us, even in the simplest, most mundane things:

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:6, King James Version).

Well, I don’t know that He cares about the sidewalk, but I KNOW, without a doubt, that He cares about me:

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  . . .  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? (Matthew 6:26, 30, New Living Translation).

Then He reminded me that, if He cares about me and my concern about something as silly as a sidewalk, how much more does He care about more important, more life-changing things?

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand (Mark 6:41-44, New International Version).

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4, King James Version).

Someone criticized me recently for praying for something they thought was silly.  They implied that God should not be bothered by trivial things, but that we should spend our time praying for more important things.  Isn’t it wonderful that God does not have to prioritize and schedule His to-do list like we do?  He is so great that He spoke the universe into creation, and He holds it all together in perfection:

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:3, King James Version).

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17, New International Version).

And at the same time, He knows each one of us so personally that He knew us when we were conceived, and He knows each hair on our head:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed (Psalm 139:13-16, New Living Translation).

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Luke 12:7, New International Version).

Do you trust God with every little silly thing in your life?  If not, why not?  How can you trust Him with the big things if you don’t trust Him with the small ones?  Begin acknowledging Him in even the tiniest things – take a walk, notice the tiniest wildflowers, the softest breeze, the most distant sound of a bird chirping.  Thank Him for those things.  Then notice the smile on a friend’s face or her kind words, and thank God for giving you friends.  When you begin to acknowledge Him in the small things, it will be easier for you to trust Him with the big things.

 

My prayer for you and for myself this week is that we will recognize His work in and around us, even in what we may call the silly things, so that we would learn to trust Him with the big things (See Philippians 4:6):

Dear Jesus,
Don’t (allow me to) worry about anything; instead, (remind me to) pray about everything. (Remind me to) tell God what (I) need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then (I) will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard (my) heart and mind as (I) live in Christ Jesus.