"As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!" - Psalm 40:17
Yesterday was my day off, and as is typical on my days off, I took a walk to the Wilsons'. Walking to the Wilsons' is beautiful. First you cross the busy, busy street in front of our building, and walk back past the old church on a cobblestone road, past that through the little village of Fischbach, and then past that through farm land... farm houses... creeks, abandoned train tracks, and winding, small country roads.
After about 45 minutes of that, you get to the Wilsons' - Which is an old German farm house, situated just where a tiny country road starts to head up onto a hill, topped with forest area and covered with other old farm houses and vineyards.
As I walked, I started to think. People are all so different. We all have different gifts, interests, ways of thinking and behaving. Any topic that can be thought about by anyone is known by God. Every interest that could be discovered, learned, or explored is known by God. Everything we have in the way of gifts, talents, abilities - these are all gifts of God. And all of this beauty around me - is created by and tended by God, who puts it all to rest every winter and brings it back to life every spring.
...Wow.
Thinking further, I considered that if the entire world were represented only as *I* am able to see it, it wouldn't be very big, and there wouldn't be much to explore. There wouldn't even be much to think about because my mind is limited in how far it can go. There is so much to learn, see, and think about in this world - as we can see when we look at our differences! So much more than can ever be discovered by one person.
The world is so much bigger than my mind or my ability to comprehend. If the limit of my imagination was the limit of the earth's splendour, well, it wouldn't really be that great, would it? It's far beyond that! And God knows and made it all. That, and... In a whole new sphere of understanding, he knows the spiritual realm. All of it is understood by him.
Sometimes I have wondered why God ever bothers to think about me. Why *does* he care about me exactly, when there are so much more important things to do and think about? And even if he does take thought for me, does he really care about all of my little troubles and trials? Why should he?
Well, looking at the grass made me realize - it's not hard for him. He who tends the grass and brings it to life every spring - who takes the time to make sure that every individual blade is unique, green, living, and ready to grace the part of the earth on which it stands is a testimony of the fact that, you and I are not too small to be noticed by the Lord of the universe.
"...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:28b-33
Somehow, his big-ness is bigger than I can even begin to imagine. And somehow, encompassed in that, is a love and compassion for little people like me.
I can't get my head around it. But that's ok. He can. :)
Thank you, Lord.
--Naomi
