God in the Little Things

Here in the Dominican Republic, serving the people is EASY. There are so many in need that you can't go more than a few feet to find something to do, say, pray about, or provide. It is miraculous in so many ways to be able to touch the people if only for a moment. A hug, a prayer, a smile, some medicine, a helping hand, any of these can touch in a profound way. Then, we get to allow God to potentially turn that moment into a touch for a lifetime or a at a minimum, the first step in an individual understanding His Love. I say all that, because I have been surprised at the things that emotionally 'shake me up' while we are with the people. I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the needs and the people. I was expecting God to work in me and the people we are serving with. I was expecting God to move me over what He would accomplish in my son while we were here. What I was not expecting, was to have the littlest details be the things that just brought me to my knees so to speak. To see how God is in EVERY little detail here is amazing!

As part of our daily planning, we divide up the items (sports equipment, bible stories for kids, toys, personal care items, bibles, medicines, etc) that we want to use in each of our days in ministry. I can't say that I pray specifically each morning about what and how to do this, we just cover each day and the efforts we will make with prayer. Yesterday, we decided to take 20 lollipops with us to give out at various times during the day. We interacted with SO many children; from the city streets to the baseball field, to the community center, to the Bible Study, there were well over 100. But, when we arrived at the orphanage (see post The Victory- La Victoria), amazingly, we had not passed out any lollipops. We pulled the lollipops out of the bag and shoved them in our pockets. I was definitely concerned that we would have a fearfully inadequate number and not be able to pass out a thing, or at the very least, have to leave out the older kids. We began playing with the girls, holding girls, hugging, passing out stickers, and taking a tour, I asked the director about how many girls were at the orphanage at that moment. She answered without skipping a beat that with girls at school or at other activities that there were 20 girls present at that moment. I was elated, overwhelmed, and in tears; I was a wreck. God is so good! He knew what we had and when it would be used. He had it planned far in advance of us. AMAZING!

You may be reading this and find it silly but I am in awe of God for moments such as these. God is in the midst of every aspect of our lives and nothing, including the number of lollipops in our pockets, is too little for Him to use for His glory.