I’ve seen God do big things in my life. Huge things. He mended my heart after my first marriage fell apart. He softened the spirit of my rebellious teenage son. He healed my impossibly sick daughter.
In fact, God has done so many big things in my life that sometimes I forget that He’s at work in the small stuff too. God doesn’t sit on the side lines waiting to make the big plays!
I recently had a great reminder that God really is in EVERYTHING with us.
I was flying with my husband Chris from Dallas to Singapore, via Tokyo. By the time we landed in Singapore, it was 3:00am local time, and we’d been traveling for thirty one hours. I was so eager to stretch my legs and to get to our hotel that I forgot to retrieve my Bible from the seat pocket in front of me.
Any Bible is special, but this one was especially dear to me because it was a gift from my daughter, Annie. I had carried it with me for almost thirteen years, all over the world, and now, in a distracted instant, it was gone.
I didn’t realize my mistake until after we made it to our hotel room nearly an hour later. Exhausted and sad, I called the hotel desk. I explained what had happened and gave them all my flight information.
And then I prayed:
“Lord, thank you for that Bible. Even though it is really special, if it is your will that I get it back or if you will use this Bible to change someone else’s life or if me leaving it gives me the opportunity to by example show others that God’s word is important to me as I pursue retrieving it, I leave this in your hands.”
Now, even in my travel-weary state, I fully realized just how fortunate I actually was. Let’s face it, in the spectrum of things that can go wrong during international travel, one lost Bible is about as small a problem as you’re likely to encounter; it’s not a limb, after all!
Would God even care to hear about my little predicament?
Yes!
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6).
God does care to hear about the “small stuff.” In fact, He lives in the small stuff.
I got my Bible back, but I’m still not sure how. It took three different people at the hotel and who knows how many at the airport to track it down and get it to the airline lost and found. Then I somehow managed to find the lost and found office (despite some inexplicably locked doors), while Chris waited with the most patient taxi driver ever!
It was a small miracle, but it’s one that I will never forget.
I am so, so thankful that I can go to God with every part of my life.
Think about it. If it was you or me in charge of the universe, we would have to focus on the big stuff. Prioritize! Delegate! Heavens, I have to do those things just to manage my own life, let alone the lives of other people!
Not God though.
God is big. Bigger than you or I can imagine. Big enough for small miracles.
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Have you seen God’s hand in any small miracles lately?
Looking for more executive wisdom from business expert Diane Paddison? You might also enjoy A Five Step Cure For The Bad Job Blues
Diane Paddison has held several executive positions for corporations, including Chief Operating Officer for two Fortune 500 companies, Trammell Crow (now CB Richard Ellis) and ProLogis. She is currently the Chief Strategy Officer at the commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley, and the founder of 4WordWomen, a national nonprofit designed to connect, lead and support young professional Christian women to fulfill their God-given potential.
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