A few days ago I was walking around London’s Covent Garden, one of my favorite parts of the city, browsing through stalls at the market and looking at Christmas decorations. I decided it was time to head “home” since my host might be wondering about my whereabouts. I reached into my bag for my Oyster card (like a Smartrip card) that would get me on the train; the card was not there. I searched all the pockets in my bag and on my clothing; no card. I even dumped the contents of my handbag into a shopping bag. Still no card. I put the contents back into my handbag and prayed. I reached into my bag again and felt the card.
Every day each one of us wakes up from sleep and makes our way through a mostly successful and unremarkable day. We may start our day with worship, but what happens after we have closed the Bible or said Amen? How much do we engage God in the daily happenings in our lives? If you are like me, you sometimes think that some things are too small or petty to involve God. I find I often think that the daily happenings in my life are merely part of the Earth going through its rotations and that is just how things are. I get into a mindset where I think my life is on a trajectory and it is just happening.
I put God on the side when things are going in a routine and unremarkable manner. We all turn to God in times of distress, but in our everyday lives when things are just moving along, do we remember to acknowledge that God has something to do with, for example, the fact that we have jobs or food to eat? Do we acknowledge the hand of God when we arrive at our destination safely, while the traffic reporters are telling us about delays on our roads due to vehicle crashes?
There is a saying, “[t]here by the grace of God, go I.” Usually, someone says that when he or she sees a person in a bad situation and is thankful that he/she was spared that experience. Actually, God’s grace does guide our life on a daily basis. It is easy to Get into a lull and think that our successes are due only to our efforts. But it is God who puts us in the right place to make the connections that lead to our achievements. He cares about all aspects of our lives. He cares when someone has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and He also cares enough to give a positive answer to your prayer to help you not miss your bus.
We sometimes refer to ourselves as lucky when something good happens or we avoid a bad situation. There is no luck involved. God is in charge and he makes things work out. Not always in our human timing, mind you, but He is present and involved. He cares about every little thing in our lives, and the big ones too. We should not pick and choose when we turn to Him. We should always seek Him and keep Him present in our lives.
I did not forget to thank God and acknowledge His goodness when I eventually found my Oyster card. In fact, my spontaneous response right there on the sidewalk was to chuckle and say, “God, you are pretty awesome.” He is.