God Guides, Part 1:
Even the Little Stuff …
It is easy to convince yourself that God doesn't care about the little
things and that we shouldn't even be bothering Him with such trivia. After
all, He IS God of the universe. He doesn't have time to worry about every
detail of our lives!
But God does care about every aspect of our lives, no matter how big or
small. If it is important to you, it is important to Him, and the story that
will be outlined in the next 4 devotionals demonstrates this nicely.
It was a "little" thing. Something only of "minor" importance in the grand
scheme of things, but last year we decided to downsize our aviary. This
meant finding new homes for our breeding pairs of birds, including my
husband's Blue-Headed Pionus. It was his idea, but the kids and I knew that
when it came time to send them away, he would be sad. What could we do to
take away the pain?
That's when we got the idea of buying him a kitten.
But wait. We were supposed to be downsizing our "ark", not adding to it! Was
this just another one of my cock-eyed ideas?
We went to the Lord in prayer. "Lord," I said, "Please help me to know if
it's Your will to get a kitten!" Then I went to my Bible and opened it where
I had left off just the day before, and found a direct reference to a cat.
My next question was, "What kind of a cat, Lord?"
You see, my husband loves Siamese cats. I, on the other hand, would prefer
more of a family cat, one that loves people and would get along with the dog
and the birds.
It wasn't long afterwards that I received a devotional submission entitled "Ragdoll".
Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Ragdoll is a cat with markings
similar to a Siamese. But here the similarity ends. A ragdoll is a people
pleaser, a family cat. One that gets along with dogs and loves everyone!
But was this "the will of Lyn"? Or "The will of God"?
"Do you want us to get a Ragdoll, Lord? Or a Siamese? Or just and alley
cat?"
I opened my Bible then to the next Ps on my list to read: Ps. 36. The first
words? "An oracle is within my heart …"
Hum. What was on MY heart was something OTHER than a Siamese …
The next message from the Lord? "One of illegitimate birth shall NOT
enter the assembly of the Lord …" (Deut 23:2 NKJV)
Well, an alley cat is DEFINITELY of illegitimate birth!
At this point I also asked my boys to pray. The message they both received
was, "it's time for a change!"
Okay, then the Ragdoll was for us. But where should we get it from?
Quick Internet research revealed the nearest breeders were in Buffalo, in
Niagara, in Brampton, in Toronto, and in Windsor. A few emails eliminated
two of the above, and it was down to Buffalo, Niagara, or Brampton. All
would have kittens available at about the time we would be ready to buy. But
which one would have the perfect kitten for us?
Price is always a factor, and this pointed to the Buffalo breeder.
Again, I prayed about it. Here is what God gave me, straight from His Word:
"Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness …" (Ps. 37:3)
Well, that was pretty clear! I was to stay in Canada to purchase the kitten.
But where in Canada?
My next text came from Matt 15:29-30: "Jesus departed from there, skirted
the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there."
I picked up a map. Buffalo is on the Niagara River. If I "departed from
there", into Canada, and "skirted the Sea" - followed the Niagara
River and the banks of Lake Ontario, and if I "went up on the mountain"
- climbed the Niagara Escarpment, commonly known in the region as "The
Mountain" - That put me on the doorsteps of the cattery in Niagara!
Amazing!
But I still wasn't convinced, because the Brampton breeder was cheaper.
"Confirm this, Lord," I prayed. And He did. In the very next text:
"When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it
afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow."
(Deut 24:21-22 NKJV)
Imagine my surprise when I went on the website of the Niagara-based cattery
and found … the cattery is situated on a grape farm!
Yes, it was all "little stuff", but God cares about little stuff and He
desires to guide you every step of the way. Remember, when you take the time
to ask Him each time you have a decision to make, you will NEVER go wrong!
But that's not the end of the kitten story … Join us next week for "God
Guides, Part 2: The Timing of it All.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two
teens, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet
newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian
devotionals and inspirational poems,
www.scripturalnuggets.org,
with Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org.