Do you think the little things that concern children matter to God? I mean things like their favorite toy, and their favorite blanket, and their favorite pair of sunglasses. I am convinced that they do matter a great deal to Him. They matter to Him because they matter to them. Spurgeon said in a commentary of Psalm 139 that God cares about “all the littles in our little worlds.”
Just this past Friday afternoon while my son-shine, my wife, was out of town, I took the kids and we joined a friend and his kids on their traditional apple picking adventure up at Wallingford’s Orchards. They made it a tradition to go with dad picking while their mom was away. It was a cool and sunny afternoon and my nine year old sweetheart (my daughter) wore her favorite sunglasses out into the orchard as we picked. At one point she decided that she didn’t want to wear them anymore, and she didn’t want to carry them anymore either. “Dad can you carry my sunglasses?” She requested. “Sure.” Was my simple reply as I reached out my hand, took the wide lens pink glasses and slid one of its arms into my pocket so they kind of just dangled there.
We picked. We picked high and we picked low. We picked mostly Mac’s, red ones and semi-red ones; we tried to avoid the green ones. We picked and picked and it went fast. At one point I was lifting my nine year old ton-of-bricks onto my shoulders so she could get the high ones. The bag was a bulging 17 pounds when all was said and done.
After we went into the store and paid for the bag we stopped by the van I borrowed from my parents. The wife had the Lincoln and was Navigating somewhere up near Camden. So after dropping the bag off at the van we walked to the back of the store where there were picnic tables and things for the kids to do. We, my friend and I, walked while watching the kids and talked and for a while also sat at the tables and talked. It was a good cool afternoon for a visit.
When it was time to leave and return the van we moseyed back to the vehicles and went our separate directions. Only I didn’t get very far before I heard, “Dad, do you still have my sunglasses?” I forgot they were clipped to my pants the whole time we covered the grounds of Wallingford’s. When I looked down, yup, you guessed it. They were gone. I apologetically said, “No Sweetheart I don’t, they’re gone. They must have fallen. We can get you another pair.”
She was heartbroken. “Dad, can we go back? They were my favorite!”
So you know what I did? I turned the van around and we went back. All the while I was thinking it was impossible. Someone would have found them; kept them. I’m never going to find them.
When I went back I pulled over to the side of the orchard, left the kids in the car with the car running because it was starting to get cool, and ran down towards where we were picking. I began scouring the tall grass with my eyes, scanning back and forth, back and forth.; taking a few steps then back and forth again, back and forth with my eyes. Then I went to the next tree for the same routine. Nothing. And nothing again.
I was getting a little discouraged and was about to give up. As a last ditch attempt I prayed. Why do we often wait until the “last thing” to pray? I intended to say, “Lord, you know exactly where they are. Could you please help me find them?” What I actually prayed was, “Lord, you know exactly where they are. Could you please help me….” And I couldn’t believe my eyes. There in front of me, just as plain as day were my little girls big pink wide lens glasses!!! I ended with “Thank You LORD!” as I picked them up and ran back to the van.
This became the story at the dinner table as we joined our apple picking friends for supper that evening. I am sure that in their eyes God was magnified. I am sure because I was told later that they conveyed the tale to their mom over the phone.
“He (The Lord Jesus) must increase, and WE must decrease.” But even though this is true He is very concerned with “all the littles in our little worlds.”
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