Greetings!

It has been a minute! But here I am again and hopefully, for the long haul. I had a long, deep talk with some of the blessed ones who continue to give sage advice and suggestions, regarding this blog and other areas of gifting, towards which God has been nudging me.

I believe I have made the observation in this space before, though not in the same way, that any deficiency in self-confidence, added to a fear of failure, constitutes a lethal combination that, if allowed to go unchecked, will result in the kind of lethargic non-action that makes dreams dissipate, before they have opportunity to become reality. Today, therefore, I will not re-enter the blogsphere from a position of negativity; I will move instead, towards the trampoline of hope, and standing on tiptoe (what a remarkable sight😊), I will acknowledge and affirm by faith, the immense possibilities that are ahead.

Consider this an invitation, therefore, to accompany me on this next leg of the adventure that is my life. Let me encourage you to buckle up, for this has all the makings of a bumpy ride. It is an absolute certainty that the route will be riddled with twists, turns and a number of forks in the road. Yet, the driver being the Lord, you can rest assured that it will be an experience of countless blessings.

Today then, I have no profound message to leave with you, except that I want to share a story, the moral of which is that God responds to every prayer, whether or not it is in the way that we want or desire. This is also a story of God’s uncanny ability to make much of the things and situations we would deem too insignificant or mundane, to occupy space within the transcendent realm of divine operations.

So, last week, while getting ready for work, I washed and powdered my face, as is my custom before sitting to apply lotion to my legs and feet. Those of you who know me will appreciate that the latter occupation dictates such a posture, so that application can be done evenly and well, given the ample portions of flesh to be covered.

As I prepared to sit, however, I noticed splashes of water on the vanity near the basin, obviously from the washing of my face; so, I mopped them with pieces of used paper towel, lying nearby. Having creamed my locomotors (though these days, with the pains I am having, they are more on the side of being loco than motoring), I decided to take out the bathroom garbage (mostly used tissue and paper towel, before putting on my work clothes and finally, my lipstick😊

With the garbage disposed, I washed and dried my hands, put on my clothes, and proceeded to pat my face with fresh paper towel then apply the purple lipstick I chose, to reflect the Lenten season. Now it was time for the last acts before grabbing my bag to head out the door. These included donning my earrings followed by a few quick spurts of perfume. I had been wearing a particular pair of earrings over the last week, to give my trusty knobs a break, though in reality, I just felt for another look, if you get my meaning.

These earrings are older than the knobs; in fact, I can recall having bought them from Argos, a catalogue retailer in the UK, in existence long before online shopping became en-vogue. They were a Christmas present I gave myself, to make up for the loneliness of that first Christmas, spent away from family, whilst a student in London. At the time, it seemed expensive at forty pounds, but I was determined to give myself a gift that I would treasure. Well, that was thirty-five years ago, and their simple, understated beauty allows me to still wear them with pride, even if no one notices.

I put the first one in my left lobe and secured it, then reached to pick up the other, but it was not there! I looked everywhere on the vanity, but my little earring was nowhere in sight. I bent and looked on the floor, even to removing and shaking the bath rug, thinking it might have fallen there and got stuck in the fibres. No such luck! Where was the earring? I had removed both of them before retiring the night before and now, there is only one.

Back in the day, before my sojourn in England, a beloved and older colleague had shared with me that whenever she could not find something, she would always stop looking and ask the Lord to show her where it was. So convincing was her testimony, I soon adopted the practice. To cut a long story short, I now have my own testimony, which I have shared with others, who have found in the practice, an unfettered way to God’s heart, and answered prayers.

So, I sat, and I prayed… “Lord, please show me where the earring is.” Within seconds I felt in my spirit that I should look in the garbage bag. But I argued with myself, that I had already taken it to the dumpster outside and in any event, how could I have thrown it out with the garbage? The urge was insistent however, so once again, I looked around on the floor of the bathroom and bedroom but, there was no earring.

But what if people see me rifling through the garbage, dressed in my work clothes, they will think ‘di pastor lik har head!’ Still, deciding to humour God, I went out and quickly fished the small bag of mostly paper from the dumpster. As I was not about to stand on the street going through its contents, I took it back to my room and sat once again. Beads or shall I say little streams of perspiration had breeched the barrier of the powder, promoting me to turn on my trusty fan, as I gingerly lifted every piece of paper from the once discarded bag. Frustrated, I was about to fling them back in, when in a corner crease, I beheld a small, shiny object.

How did it get there? I may be going crazy, but not enough to throw away my beautiful earring. It was then that another wave of wisdom washed over me, with the theory that on mopping the water from the vanity, the earring got caught in the tightly bunched wads of paper towel, and I neither noticed nor felt the hard object, so dropped everything into the bag. Needless to say, I offered an audible thanks to God for coming to my rescue yet again, even as I thought of the greater lesson of the story.

Often, we think God is either not listening or too busy with matters of significance to be bothered by our small, mundane worries. Not so! God is interested in every area and aspect of our lives, even the earrings we wear or the colour of our lipstick. God wants to know that we feel we can come to Him, divine parent that He is and talk about anything! I believe the boy who offered up his lunch (five loaves and two fish; see Matthew 14: 13 – 21) deliberated long and hard before going forward to present not just his lunch, but himself. He realised that nothing is too insignificant to present to the One whose love is beyond measure.

So, remember, because you hold a significant place in the heart of God, so too does anything about which you are concerned, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Whenever we pray God hears and will always respond.

Until next time, stay safe, remembering that you are etched in the palm of Divine Hands.

Grace+