Sunday, July 10, 2011

Even the Little Things Matter

 

by Jennifer AlLee

Finding Blessings in the little things I’ve prayed a lot of big prayers in my lifetime. Prayers about really important things. But on Tuesday, I had one little prayer request for God: Please excuse me from jury duty.

It’s not that I don’t want to fulfill my civic duty. I just didn’t want to do it now. Maybe it’s never a convenient time to put your life on hold and serve on a jury, but this summer is particularly bad for me. Lots of stuff going on in my family that needs my attention. So I asked God if he would please get me out of it.

And then the blessings started.

First off, since it was the day after a holiday, we didn’t have to report to the court house until noon. That’s huge, because normally, it’s 8:00 AM. That would have meant driving downtown at the height of rush hour. Not a pleasant thought.

Blessing number two came when I was walking the four blocks from the parking structure. I don’t go downtown very often and wasn’t 100% certain which way to go. I was holding my jury summons in my hand, checking the map on the back when an older gentleman said to me, “I see we’re going to the same place.” He had the same summons, and thankfully, he knew his way around. So we walked and chatted, and I arrived safely at my destination without stressing about getting lost.

Finally, the biggest blessing of all came when, three hours later, the registrar announced that they had more people than they needed, and she started calling out the names of those who could leave. I waited and prayed some more as she called out names in groups of ten. Finally, I heard my name… the last name called in the 6th group. I was 60 people in, but I was excused. Not only that, but those three hours I spent at the court house mean I’m exempt from jury duty for at least the next 18 months.

My prayer was not the most important prayer God heard that day. I didn’t ask for the biggest thing. God didn’t have to think twice about my prayer. But he did. At the same time that he was answering prayers about life and death issues, he was also answering my little request. What a wonderful God we have to be so invested in every part of our lives. He sees us, small as we are, and listens to every word we pray.

Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?
And not one of them is forgotten before God.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6-7, NKJV

How about you? How has God taken care of a little thing that meant a lot?



 JENNIFER ALLEE believes the most important thing a woman can do is find her identity in God – a theme that carries throughout her novels. A professional writer for over twenty years, she's done extensive freelance work for Concordia Publishing House, including skits, Bible activity pages, and over 100 contributions to their popular My Devotions series. Her first novel, The Love of His Brother, was released by Five Star Publishers in November 2007. Her latest novel, The Pastor’s Wife, was released by Abingdon Press in February 2010. Her upcoming novel, The Mother Road, will be released by Abingdon Press in April 2012. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Christian Authors Network, and the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

http://jenniferalleesite.blogspot.com/ - Jennifer's website
http://thepastorswifespeaks.blogspot.com/ - A safe haven for women living on the front lines of ministry.

18 comments:

  1. Hehehe.
    Glad to know we all feel the same way about jury duty. You handled it better than I did.
    Word to the wise... don't have a fit of carnality about it when you get your notice. God seems to take that as a good reason to make sure you're seated on the jury! : )
    Next time I get called I will do better.

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  2. Hey Jen, I'm one of those people who pray about every little thing. And we're talking about some small things here that would make many others laugh. But He hasn't let me down once. Not once - although not always how I envisioned it. :)

    I've heard some people say God doesn't have time for the little things and you should only bother Him with the biggies. I don't believe that. And I'm assured of this when we have sharing time at church and the pastor asks if anyone has a testimony. That's when we hear other people say what they've prayed for and the answer they've been blessed with.

    Yes, we laughed when an elderly couple said their fridge broke down so they pulled the motor out, prayed over it and put it back. But then we nodded and praised God when they said the fridge started working again. Because we know God answers even the little things in our lives.

    Thanks for the post, Jen. I'm always reassured when I hear others pray for the little things, too. :)

    Anita mae.

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  3. Niki, who said I didn't get carnal when the summons arrived ;+} I can grumble and complain with the best of them! God may have gotten me out of jury duty more for Billy than for me, but I'm just thankful he did!

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  4. Anita, I've had friends do things similar to your example with the refrigerator motor. Sometimes God moves and we're all amazed. Sometimes his answer is, It's time for a new refrigerator, and he provides a way to get one. Either way, he's listening!

    When we get to heaven, I think we'll be amazed when we realize all the little prayers that God answered, even when we didn't realize we were praying :+}

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  5. I think Jesus used the analogy of the mustard seed for a reason. If we never trust him with the little things how are we ever going to be prepared for trusting him with the big ones.

    Anita, I think you're right and "they" are wrong. He's interested and he is willing to be involved in every aspect of our lives.

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  6. Amen, Lisa. When I was thinking of a verse, the sparrow kept coming to mind. I forgot all about the mustard seed. That's a big clue to how important the little things are to God.

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  7. It's the little things that really bless me. when something comes my way that is such a personal blessing I'm reminded that God knows and cares for me in such a personal way. Who else knows my thoughts?

    I wonder where we all draw the line?
    Certainly I don't pray over whether or not to buy french style or cut green beans but then again, I often get home and think, I guess I should have picked up those paper towel rolls rather than ignore the little voice.

    Some would think it crazy, blasphemous, maybe? for me to suggest God cares about my paper towel supply...but is it? Or do we need to start thinking this way more?

    Hmmmmm.
    oh, yeah, I definitely would pray over a fridge motor.

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  8. Thanks Dina for the new summer reading list. Love this feature and it looks like we have some awesome books in progress ladies!

    Read on!

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  9. Hey Jen! I, too, believe God cares about the little things. I don't see anything wrong with praying about little things. Isn't there a cliche that says it's the little things that count? I think it basically says little things mean a lot to us humans. God cares about our well-being, so if small things mean a lot to us, of course that is important to God. And, he wants us to come to him with our cares, our worries, our joys, so I don't think it's a negative in his eyes if we talk to him about things that are small. The point is we're talking to him, sharing with him, and that draws us closer to him. That can't be a bad thing and it's definitely not trivial. I know I'm not explaining this the way I mean, but it's the best I can do at the moment. Thanks for this great, thought-provoking post.

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  10. I always kind of enjoy jury duty. I've only actually gotten on one jury that gave a verdict.

    The other panel I was seated on ended up being dismissed because the defendant (after arriving VERY late dressed as if he was headed to the beach in Hawaii and with a combative attitude) immediately demanded an appeal to a higher court.

    The judge was obliging enough to declare him guilty, and we didn't do anything.

    I did kind of begrudge him the several hours in a somewhat air conditioned meeting room off the firehouse I had to spend waiting.

    Ah well . . . ;)

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  11. DeAnna, I've been called for jury duty a couple times and never gotten to serve. The only time I really wanted out of it was a year or two back when it was scheduled at the same time as ACFW's conference.

    But typically I would find it really interesting, although my work now may disqualify me from serving on some kinds of juries.

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  12. Thanks for the post, Jen. Lately, I've been reminded in lots of ways that God hears me. I went through a tough few weeks and while I knew God heard my cries, I didn't "feel" it. I know that's no indicator of His faithfulness, though.

    I pray about all kinds of little things. I've been known to pray about what to wear for a particularly intimidating event. You might laugh, but God helped me with that, too!

    I'm selfishly glad you didn't have jury duty so we could hang out! :-)

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  13. LIsa, my "real" job is working for an attorney, so I sometimes think I don't get picked because they think I know too much.

    Heh heh . . . if only they knew how little I know. :D

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  14. Don't forget we want photos of the Susie Jen lunch!!

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  15. I have never been called for jury duty. Can you believe it? Maybe I got put on some special "list" when I homeschooled. LOL.

    Yes, I know God answers the little prayers too.

    Recently I've been really praying about my book and how to market it. One thing that I felt God specifically put on my heart to pray was that people would be drawn to it by the cover. The next week, Diana Flowers commented on my interview on Carrie Pagels blog and went on and on about how she got shivers when she looked at the cover and how she felt so drawn to this book, and that I'll probably think she was crazy. I was soooo touched by that. It was a huge answer to prayer.

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  16. About jury duty... I'm sure there will come a time when I won't mind it. This summer, though, is not that time. Yep, I selfishly wanted to be able to meet Susie (such fun!) and then there are doctor's visits and college orientation and helping Billy get his driver's license... and... and... you get it.

    I almost served on a jury about 20 years ago. It was for a guy who had stabbed someone in a bar. I was chosen, but the day the trial was supposed to start, the victim and the defendant ended up in the elevator together. Not good. The victim stabbed the guy who was on trial for stabbing him. Because the jury members saw the crime tape and had started to talk about it, they declared a mistrial and we all went home. Too bad. I actually was looking forward to serving on that one.

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  17. Deb, I put a pic of Susie and I on my Facebook page. She's adorable and cute, I'm... the larger of the two. Anyway, she's just as bubly and sweet in person as I expected her to be.

    Dina, that's a real blessing about your book. You have one of the most unique covers I've seen on a Christian novel. I can't think of one that has someone dancing on it! That would certainly get me to pick it up in a store.

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  18. Jen, I know of one that has a pretty picture of a woman's legs in a tu tu and pointe shoes. I bought that based on the cover alone.

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