God Knows and Cares

I have fallen behind in posting to my blog. I've really been feeling like I should post, but I felt like I had nothing to say. The last time I posted it was April; now it's the last day of August. Summer is so blah to me, and I get depressed by the way it drags on.

Yes, I'm weird. I don't get depressed in the cold, dark winter, but in the bright, hot summer. 

Anyway, today I had a neat thing happen, and I wanted to share it. The two people I chose to share it with, though, didn't respond to my text. 

This is not to fault them; on the contrary, I should have seen that my news needed to be shared with my blog readers. After all, I've been praying, asking God to let me encourage someone with my blog. I feel called to do this. He gave me something to share and I didn't pick up on it! So, even though it's hours later, I have repented and I'm now sharing it, even though it's a small and somewhat insignificant thing.

For several years, I have wanted some Adirondack chairs for my porch. Granted, I don't have much of a porch anymore since I've relocated to the small town where I now live, post-retirement. That didn't stop me from wanting them, though. 

I never managed to find two of them in the same color, or the store where they were sold would sell out before I could get them. And to be fair, most of the time once summer is underway I don't remember to look for them because I don't sit outside in the summer. It's too hot, and I'm mosquito bait anyway. 

Today, though, I ran across an ad on Facebook about a sale in a local (unnamed on here) chain store declaring the end of summer sale. I thought why not go take a look?  

I went to the store nearest my house. They had one blue chair. The sale, however, wasn't a half-price sale, it was "buy one get one free." I asked to buy the one blue chair, and they said it would be full price, because it was BOGO. 

So I bought a blue chair and was awarded a gray one for free.

I reasoned in my mind that it wouldn't be so bad. I could put one in the back and one in the front, since they didn't match.

Then it came to me: go to another of these chain stores and see if they had a blue one and see if they would trade me if they had a blue one.

Very unlikely, I thought, but what do I have to lose?

So I went to the next nearest store of this kind and they had ONE blue chair. The only one they had was inside their store, in their break area.

I know it's not important; getting a cheap, plastic lawn chair, but I breathed a prayer anyway as I stood in line in that store, waiting to ask. I prayed it rather apologetically, too, because a lawn chair isn't a big deal, is it?

The girl behind the counter said "sure," she could swap it out, as long as they still had one in their break area. 

What?!? 

So just like that, God gave me a tiny, insignificant little desire of my heart. The store worker even carried the chair out to my car and took the gray one back inside cheerfully.

I can't make this stuff up. God cares about every detail of our lives, both small and great. Even a small, unimportant detail that would not have made any difference when you really think about it. 

Are you struggling with something tonight, or whenever you're reading this? Take your concern to God. He cares. If He will make sure I get 2 blue plastic Adirondack chairs, how much more will He meet your need? 

I didn't really consider it a need, but maybe it was. Maybe it was needed to remind me that God cares. He sees me. He knows I've been struggling off and on with depression again, and I needed to know He knows right where I am.

He sees you. He knows right where you are, too. Reach out to Him.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 NLT