My second oldest daughter left Tuesday morning to tour with The Continental Singers. The three month long mission trip was brought to her as a huge gift from her heavenly Father. She is a singer/ dancer kid who has always longed for more chances to perform, travel and participate in a mission trip. The Continentals spread the gospel through song and dance as they travel across the United States, and on her tour, the country of New Zealand as well. It is an opportunity designed for a kid like mine and God brought it to her last winter. We have been preparing for her departure ever since through fundraising activities, prayer, planning, and shopping.
The night before Sammi left I was struggling trying to help her finish the final details of preparation. My heart was beginning to voice its objections to letting her go while the rest of me was just trying to work through the check list. "This is a great opportunity". "She'll be fine". "You will be fine", were the little mental phrases racing through my head as I helped her wash clothes, count spending money, determine if she had met all of her financial support requirements, etc.
I should have known, but didn't realize that God was watching me and smiling. Earlier in the weekend Sammi, her Dad and I had been concerned we still needed to account for some of her financial support needed for the mission trip. A last minute email was sent to the home office of the Continentals in California over Labor Day weekend which I fully expected would not be answered before her plane took off on Tuesday. As I busied myself around the house Monday night I checked emails only to see that an answer had been sent and the latest report was that she only needed $3.05 to complete her financial commitment. Wow! In a little less than six months God had raised nearly $6000 for His child to use to pay for her expenses on a mission trip He designed for her. Why was I surprised? Because, I always underestimate God.
Joyfully, I skipped to the dryer immediately after sharing the good news email with my daughter and husband . We were on a high from understanding God as Provider and feeling mighty special. I opened the dryer to pull out a stack of towels and gasped as I stared at a little blue piece of cording/ribbon. The ribbon itself was not awe inspiring it was the story behind it.
This piece of cording, the main portion of a very special bracelet of my youngest daughter, had been missing for over a week. The aforementioned bracelet, a gift from friends in France, had accidentally been washed and dryed inside the pocket of some jeans. Unfortunately, only parts of the bracelet had been recovered upon the discovery of the faux pas. For over a week I had been frustrated by the loss, knowing I couldn't replace the missing piece, but realizing that nothing could really be done about it. The ribbon-like cording was gone like an errant sock to the mysterious land of dryer victims. Lost? "Oh no, it's not lost", chuckled God. In fact in His weird mysterious way He chose to use that silly piece of ribbon to show me once again that stress and anxiety is simply because I am holding on to things too tightly. He placed that little blue string right in my face to tell me, "I have the number of hairs counted on her head"....
Every detail in my life He knows. He knows my angst over a silly little bracelet and can fix it in a nanosecond. He understands my mother's heart filled with the anxiety over my 17 year old daughter leaving the nest. He understands. He is here, there, everywhere, even in the depths of dryers, households, or wherever that silly little blue cording had been hiding. My daughter would not be traveling alone. By showing me that little blue cord God had whispered to my heart, "I will be with her every step, every breath, every moment of her journey. I have a plan for her and she is right where she should be."
I love it when God whispers because it is then that I feel the most protected, assured and loved. Although I know God can speak in a big booming voice or through burning bushes, for me He has always whispered subtley, yet miraculously. It is during these special quiet unassuming moments that I see Him working in my life.
Praise God for little pieces of blue ribbon and well timed emails. We are never alone.
Comments
Sep. 12, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Jane
This is wonderful. It's a clear reminder about who is really in control. Thanks!