When it gets personal
A few days ago, we went to the traffic police office to check and see if we had any outstanding tickets. The traffic enforcement here is done almost all by camera and it's often difficult to know if the flashes you see while driving are just "big brother" watching or if you've actually received a ticket. So we periodically stop in to check out our offences, and claim the designated points against our licenses. (To Rob's utter delight, this time there was only one offence and the photo proved my guilt :-) After the offending points are assigned to a specific driver, you proceed to the bank to pay your fine.
I've been to the bank here plenty of times and so I know that you always have to leave plenty of time and be prepared for the wait. It's a little like the deli counter at the grocery store in the states. You walk in, get your number from the machine, and sit down to wait for your turn. Often it can be up to an hour wait depending on the time of day. As I sat down, I ruefully noticed the poster on the wall indicating which time of day had the most people and smiled to see I had picked one of the banks' most busy times for my wait. I came mentally ready for the wait so I dutifully took my seat and settled in. Just then, the woman sitting next to me, got up and began a loud angry tirade in Chinese about how long she had been waiting and a few other things I couldn't quite understand due to her hasty speech. But she made sure everyone in the bank understood her displeasure before she stalked away. I wondered to myself how long the wait time really was today if she was so upset and I considered leaving, but then decided against it. I was already here, after all, it would probably be no better a different day. Just then to my complete surprise the door attendant, tapped me on the shoulder, handed me a ticket, and asked for mine back. I agreed in a bit of confusion, but a moment later I realized what he had done. He had given me a ticket much farther up in the line, that presumably was left behind by someone who had chosen not to wait. To my further surprise one moment later, my new number was called and I was ushered right up to the tellers window to complete my transaction. A few minutes later, I headed back outside while smiling and breathing a quiet thank you to my new friend the door attendant. All in all I was in the bank about 15 minutes. As I stepped back out into the sunshine, I felt distinctly that I had been given a sweet reminder. I had been to this bank many times before and had never had this happen, so although the door man was very kind, I don't think in this instance his kindness had much to do with me being a foreigner. Maybe it was because he felt badly for me sitting next to the angry woman while she went on her tirade? I don't know. But I do know that I felt in that moment the very specific smile of my Heavenly Father who handed me a small but very personal gift. It was a reminder for me that in the bigness of the world, HE SEES ME. Not just that He knows about me, or has a plan for my life as a whole, but that He sees me in the tiniest details of my otherwise mundane life. I felt like a small child whose Father had just presented her with an unexpected ice cream cone in the middle of an otherwise ordinary day.
I have been reminded of this moment a few times in the last week when people ask me about the dangers of the pollution in the air where we live, or the bird flu scare that has stopped us from buying chicken and eggs for the time being, or the Nuclear threats being thrown around just across the water from us. Surely God is busy managing the big and very important events of the world around me, but He still sees me and takes the time to show me his smile on the days when I'm least expecting it. That little thing fills me with big confidence. In the midst of the big unknown, I am reminded that no detail goes unnoticed by Him. If He can manage such a tiny specific thing with such precision then the big things go without saying.
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Yesterday with the news of the Boston Marathon hanging in the air, my gaze was again lifted up and I was reminded with clarity, that my security rests in God alone. It doesn't matter where we live or who we are, we are all equally dependent on Him whether we realize it or not. He directs each one of my steps and chooses wisely for me if my day will include joy or sorrow, sickness or health, peace or turmoil. But no matter what He chooses I can rest with assurance that no detail small or great has missed His attention and each one is for my good and His glory.
.JPG)
Matthew 6:26-33 "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown in to the oven, will he not much more clothe you, o you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
I've been to the bank here plenty of times and so I know that you always have to leave plenty of time and be prepared for the wait. It's a little like the deli counter at the grocery store in the states. You walk in, get your number from the machine, and sit down to wait for your turn. Often it can be up to an hour wait depending on the time of day. As I sat down, I ruefully noticed the poster on the wall indicating which time of day had the most people and smiled to see I had picked one of the banks' most busy times for my wait. I came mentally ready for the wait so I dutifully took my seat and settled in. Just then, the woman sitting next to me, got up and began a loud angry tirade in Chinese about how long she had been waiting and a few other things I couldn't quite understand due to her hasty speech. But she made sure everyone in the bank understood her displeasure before she stalked away. I wondered to myself how long the wait time really was today if she was so upset and I considered leaving, but then decided against it. I was already here, after all, it would probably be no better a different day. Just then to my complete surprise the door attendant, tapped me on the shoulder, handed me a ticket, and asked for mine back. I agreed in a bit of confusion, but a moment later I realized what he had done. He had given me a ticket much farther up in the line, that presumably was left behind by someone who had chosen not to wait. To my further surprise one moment later, my new number was called and I was ushered right up to the tellers window to complete my transaction. A few minutes later, I headed back outside while smiling and breathing a quiet thank you to my new friend the door attendant. All in all I was in the bank about 15 minutes. As I stepped back out into the sunshine, I felt distinctly that I had been given a sweet reminder. I had been to this bank many times before and had never had this happen, so although the door man was very kind, I don't think in this instance his kindness had much to do with me being a foreigner. Maybe it was because he felt badly for me sitting next to the angry woman while she went on her tirade? I don't know. But I do know that I felt in that moment the very specific smile of my Heavenly Father who handed me a small but very personal gift. It was a reminder for me that in the bigness of the world, HE SEES ME. Not just that He knows about me, or has a plan for my life as a whole, but that He sees me in the tiniest details of my otherwise mundane life. I felt like a small child whose Father had just presented her with an unexpected ice cream cone in the middle of an otherwise ordinary day.
I have been reminded of this moment a few times in the last week when people ask me about the dangers of the pollution in the air where we live, or the bird flu scare that has stopped us from buying chicken and eggs for the time being, or the Nuclear threats being thrown around just across the water from us. Surely God is busy managing the big and very important events of the world around me, but He still sees me and takes the time to show me his smile on the days when I'm least expecting it. That little thing fills me with big confidence. In the midst of the big unknown, I am reminded that no detail goes unnoticed by Him. If He can manage such a tiny specific thing with such precision then the big things go without saying.
.JPG)
Yesterday with the news of the Boston Marathon hanging in the air, my gaze was again lifted up and I was reminded with clarity, that my security rests in God alone. It doesn't matter where we live or who we are, we are all equally dependent on Him whether we realize it or not. He directs each one of my steps and chooses wisely for me if my day will include joy or sorrow, sickness or health, peace or turmoil. But no matter what He chooses I can rest with assurance that no detail small or great has missed His attention and each one is for my good and His glory.
.JPG)
Matthew 6:26-33 "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown in to the oven, will he not much more clothe you, o you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
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