Looking Up

Did you know Jesus is a God of details??

We can trust Him with the details of our lives....

Lately, I have had to fully trust Him with some of life's more mundane details,  but ones in which I find my self worrying about;  and we all know the Lord does NOT want us to worry!! 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace that passes understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4: 6 & 7

Sunday afternoon, my husband walked down to our basement and shouted "WHY IS OUR BASEMENT WET???"  For the 4th time in 6 years, we have come home to a wet, stinky carpet.  WHY does the carpet get wet down there but not the unfinished part of the basement, where the concrete floor is????  WHY???  I could not believe it.  After checking all pipes, appliances, shower, Dave discovered that our sump pump (for the 2nd time) was stuck and hadn't been running.  Well, I decided to look on the bright side although my mood in that moment was not so sunny.  I was actually thankful that the ground was not as saturated, as in years past, with snow melt.  Mainly because our area of NYS didn't get the inches of snow that other areas did.  We also have had a fairly dry March.  Which is most unusual but....I sure am thankful for that.  Of course I began to be anxious that we  would need to spend much money on a new sump pump or replace the carpeting.  Dave managed to fix the pump...apparently a wire was stuck or something.  Thankfully we have a good dehumidifier down there so it has been running A LOT this past week.......the odor is lingering..that icky, musty odor but...it is on its way to drying and I have sprayed Febreze into the carpet and opened basement windows.  I will use a good carpet cleaner as well once we return from our vacation.  But....for the last 2 days I have found my self getting aggravated and anxious.  And the Lord doesn't want that.

Meanwhile, my youngest, the ballerina, who is in a musical at church this coming weekend, (the HizKidzPraise ministry is performing their spring semester musical and she is in 3 of the dances), has been complaining of  ear pain.  Thankfully, she does not have a ballet solo in this show.....in fact there is no ballet in this one.  But...she takes any style of dance seriously so is looking forward to performing.  She has  been complaining of ear pain and a "plugged up" feeling.  A quick doctor visit showed no ear infection BUT rather, a plugged Eustachian tube which needs to repair on its own. There is nothing for it.  Doctor thinks it is due to a past cold or seasonal allergies of which Claire has just acquired within the last 2 years in the early spring months.  Of course I started worrying again.  I was confident that she would be ok but I was worrying that the pain would be there for these 2 shows she is in.  Monday night at her dress rehearsal she was off-balance while dancing and later that night was almost crying in pain.  (which is why I made the doctor's appt for yesterday). Well, last night after her ballet classes, I decided "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!".

While praying for the show, her school work, and friends, I told her we were going to pray specifically for God to heal her ear.

I decided to go to Him with the expectation/faith that she would be pain-free.

Meanwhile, our oven died.  Yup.  I have NO patience for inconvenience.  I can "go with the flow" but I don't have the patience for it.  It puts me in a negative mood.  The stove is 16 years old and nowadays appliances don't tend to last beyond 8 years, according to people in that part of the service industry.  Even our repairman has told us if we get 8 years out of an appliance, no matter what the brand, it is truly amazing.  So...off to Lowe's we went to choose a new oven/stove.  The prices have come down a bit for which I can give thanks.  My new appliance will be delivered around Tuesday. Meanwhile, I need to be even more creative with our dinners.

So this morning, I decided rather than being anxious about the basement, the ear thing, the oven,  I would just simply ask the Lord to bring me peace in my heart and mind and to just do what I can in a practical way in regards to the musty odor and wetness.  I also specifically asked Him to allow the sump pump to work!  I asked him to please have the oven delivered BEFORE we leave for France.  I asked him to heal my daughter.  I even asked him to do some other things that have been a part of my prayer life lately but haven't seen any answers yet.

Upon arriving home from work this afternoon, I opened a couple of windows a bit.  It is cooler here today than it was last week. Temps are only in the high 40's but I wanted fresh air anyways so opened them a crack in a couple of rooms.  Praise God!  He allowed the morning rain to end and the sun came out in full glory with a gorgeous blue sky!!  And when I carried a load of laundry down to the basement, I could tell the carpet was starting to dry out.  Yes, I will have a bit of work to do next month...but...I can manage that.

Then I sat down to do my devotional reading for the day.

You will never believe what the theme is for the day!! 

God is in the details of our lives!  I kid you not.  Here is an excerpt from my devotional book "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young:

"I am a God of both intricate detail and overflowing abundance.  When you entrust the details of your life to Me, you are surprised by how thoroughly  I answer your petitions......Best of all your faith is strengthened as you see how precisely I respond to your specific prayers.....come to Me in joyful expectation of receiving what you need---and sometimes much more!"

And then about an hour after I meditated on this devotional and looked up the Scriptures, my ballerina came home.  I asked Claire how her ear was doing.  She said it did not hurt.  I asked her if it was still plugged up.  She said, after a brief pause, "No, Mommy!  It doesn't feel plugged at all right now!" (she was so happy!!).  I said "Praise God, Claire.  He has healed your ear for you today."  

Do I worry that it might come back?  Yes....but...I am learning to immediately hand over these little details to Him....to the One who wants me to keep looking up in expectation.

To further encourage you:

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings."  Psalm 36: 7

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do no worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  Matthew 6: 33 & 34 

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength."  Isaiah 26: 3 & 4

Keep looking up, friends!  Give Him all the details......HE LOVES YOU!