Apples of Gold

Over the course of our marriage, my husband and I have purchased 8 homes and sold 7 of them.  During the process we have learned a few things, and one of them is that details really matter. Our last two homes have sold for full price, (the second for considerably over our asking price), to the first person that walked through the door. Within hours of putting them on the market they were under contract. We would be remiss to neglect to factor in the blessing of God as a major component as well. 

Details make such a difference in many areas of our lives. Taking a bit of extra care and consideration on a project for school or work, has an impact on how it is received by our teachers or supervisors. Several of my friends sew, crochet, or design things with a keen eye for detail and the final product is spectacular. Little things that a less skilled craftsman would overlook bring a touch that almost takes your breath away. 

I once failed to read the details of a prescription I was taking and quickly realized that spending time in the sun had been a bad idea! 

Details can feel tedious, overwhelming and unnecessary. They can also make a gift more meaningful, a dinner much more delectable, or a conversation more enjoyable. 

Our God is a God of detail. Sometimes it is the little things that make us smile and feel our hearts warm with the knowledge that he knows us so thoroughly and cares for us with intricate, individual detail.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. Psalm 37:23-25

My reminder came this morning as my daughter and I were talking while baby Elijah and I gently glided back and forth on the porch swing. I have never had a porch swing before. Elijah loves the swing. It will soothe him when he’s fussy, calm him when he’s angry and lull him to sleep when he would rather fight the need for a nap. We purchased this house a couple of years ago. I believe it was the only one we looked at that had a screened in porch. In fact, so many details of this home have fit needs that we didn’t anticipate in a way that is pretty impressive. It makes me smile as I think about the hand of God directing us and funneling us into this particular home. Even the neighborhood has been a safe haven for our family. 

I will not pretend to be so pious that I have had a constant heart of joy concerning this home. We have had our share of stress as we quickly learned that “beautifully maintained” ranch was far more than a stretch of the truth. We have done this home over from top to bottom, in fact we are preparing for a major plumbing fix as the roots from a giant tree invaded the pipes leading to the street! Perhaps one of the more frustrating issues was finding an old hot tub hidden under the deck, (a tiny detail the seller failed to mention in the disclosure)!

Details can be aggravating! Sometimes they seem to slow us down, trip us up, or even exclude us. Like the child turned away from a theme park ride because they were vertically challenged, we can feel let down and forget the exclusion was for our own safety. 

At times we need a reminder:

For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you. Psalm 85:11-12

Who gets the joy? The one who trusts that God knew better than we did. The one’s who shed a tear or two at the unfulfilled dream, or the missed opportunity and promptly turn their tear-stained faces toward Heaven and cling to the Word of God, acknowledging if it was for our good, he wouldn’t have withheld it.

Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum today, delighting in the details or tripping over them, I encourage you to take some time and think about God’s perfect care of you. Think about needs that he met without waiting for you to even ask about them; those prayers that were answered as you spoke them. The words from this old hymn written by Johnson Oatman Jr in 1897 seem quite apropos:

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God hath done;

Count your blessings, name them one by one.

Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

God deserves our gratefulness and worship for who he is and for his great love for us. Reflection on his faithfulness prompts peace and faith to blaze to life. 

I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! Isaiah 65:24