the little things

Thursday was just one of those days. You know the kind... I felt out of sorts when I woke up. As the morning wore on, I found myself feeling a bit anxious and simply overwhelmed. The stresses of life had been weighing on me all week, and it seemed that it had all piled up that morning.

As I got in my car that morning to head to work, I could feel the sting of the tears that were about to surface. My mind raced to the woman that was behind me at a stop light a couple of weeks ago. As she sat there, she was crying her eyes out. I prayed for her at that moment, and have prayed for her a few times since. I remember on Thursday, briefly thinking that I hoped if I lost it while driving, like she did, God would lay it on the heart of someone to pray for me. And, of course, like any woman worth her salt,  I thought about my mascara! I was headed to work after all, and I didn't want to look like a total mess all day! :)

As I pulled out of the garage, something rather odd happened. There was a work crew of prisoners at the end of our driveway. Let me explain. We live in a typical East Brainerd subdivsion. Nothing fancy. But in my 13 years of living here, I have never seen a work crew in our neighborhood. As I pulled out of my driveway, I noticed how dirty the prisoners looked. Their orange jumpsuits were literally filthy. Pity filled my heart for them. And then, all of a sudden, one of them turned and waved and smiled at me, as if he wanted to lift my spirits.  This may seem silly to other people, but God used that man to lift my heart. I drove past him, and said a prayer for him. Then went on to ask God to do something through me on that day. I knew that anything good that came of me, would be through Him and Him alone, because I was a mess.

When I arrived at work, I was immediately met with the smiles and laughter of my co-workers. Shortly afterwards, I got a big hug from one of our children. All of this may seem so small to other people. But can I just say, God used each and every moment that day to lift my heart up. A visit from my friend, Kyle, seeing an old friend, Dot, a visit from Lindsay, a laugh with several of my friends, kind words spoken unexpectedly, and unexpected call from my son...it all added. By the time I left work that day, I was regaining my strength. I was physically exhausted, but God used those moments to lift me out of my discouraged mood.

Why am I telling you all this? I just wanted to share, once again, and forever more, what an awesome God we serve. He is awesome in the huge miracles he performs. But He is also awesome in the little things. And He is awesome, even if He does nothing at all. He is God, and worthy of all praise.