Saturday, November 15, 2014

In the Small Things


My little girl was turning two, so we planned a small birthday celebration. 

I decided on a menu, and my Mama said that she would take care of the cake. 

She helped me a lot this year. The crisis with my eye was just settling down, and I wasn't able to get out very much while it was healing. 

So she thought that it might be nice to order the cake - just something simple, from Stop-and-Shop, one of the local grocery stores. 

We were doing a Winnie-the-Pooh theme. My daughter loves Winnie-the-Pooh, and I thought that the bright colors and cheerful characters would be just right for a 2-year-old's birthday. 

We were excited as we planned out the details. 

About a week before, my Mom went into Stop-and-Shop to ask about ordering a cake. The Winnie-the-Pooh-themed cake was cheerful and sweet for a child's birthday; the colors were bright - and a simple Winnie-the-Pooh plastic centerpiece would be affixed to the middle of the cake, the lady behind the counter explained. But when my Mom learned how much just a small cake would be, we re-thought the decision; my Mom lives on a tight budget and the cake would have been a significant expense for her. 

But then she went back to the bakery department a few days before the birthday. She noticed a couple of plain cakes ready to be transferred to the reduced bakery rack. Then she learned that the Winnie-the-Pooh centerpiece could be bought separately from the cake. 

If she came back the next morning, one of the ladies told her, she could buy a plain cake from the reduced rack and put the centerpiece on it herself. 

So she bought the centerpiece. And then my Mom returned back again. Early in the morning. 

But the cakes weren't on the reduced rack yet. My Mom waited and then finally asked a different woman who was working in the bakery department when they would be going out. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," was the lady's huffy reply. 

"But someone in the bakery department told me that these cakes would be reduced today . . . " my Mom spoke to the woman.

"Well, I don't know who told you that..."

My Mom left the store, downhearted, disappointed by what had transpired. 

She told me that in the car, she brought it to the Lord, asking for forgiveness for being frustrated in her heart with the woman in the bakery department who had answered her brusquely. 

As my Mom drove, she suddenly remembered that there was another Stop-and-Shop nearby--

She entered the store, headed to that Stop-and-Shop's reduced rack, and looked in amazement. 

The brightly colored Winnie-the-Pooh cake sat there - without the centerpiece - and priced just under 10 dollars, in perfect condition. 



Amazed, she picked it up and paid for it, rejoicing and praising the Lord all the way home. 

And when we ate the cake on Sunday, it was deliciously fresh, even though it was a "reduced" cake. 

My little daughter loved it; the centerpiece adorned it beautifully, and again we were reminded that -

Our Lord's hand is in the small things - He works in the minutest details of His children's lives, He answers the simple prayers of our hearts -

Meeting a woman's need -

In His perfect, all-providing way, 

Down to the tiniest detail. 

Because He loves His children.   






You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on EarthThe Modest MomWhat Joy is Mine, Yes They Are All Ours, Missional Call, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every SeasonA Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Messy Marriage, My Teacher's Name is Mama, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul SurvivalGood Morning Mondays

12 comments:

  1. God is so good! What a wonderful story of God's faithfulness and your mom's trust in Him!

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    1. He is! Have a wonderful weekend, Kathryn :-).

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    2. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. It really blessed my heart. God is so faithful and so good. This has answered a need that I had about wanting Christians in my circles. God bless you and your family. I am adding you!

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    3. I'm so glad. Deborah! God bless you, also! :-)

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  2. Precious post! Isn't it amazing how the seemingly small things become the very thing our God delights to use to show us more of Himself. He truly is interested in the minutest details of our lives. Loved reading this post & seeing God's faithfulness in & through a birthday cake! Visiting from Recommendation Saturday & am so glad I did! Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. I'm glad that you visited! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, too :-).

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  3. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" Mt. 7:11
    From the amazing gift of salvation to small things like birthday cakes, how wonderful that He desires to give us good things! I'm so glad your daughter got her Pooh-Bear cake! These are good opportunities to share with children God's love for them.

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    1. Heather, what a perfect verse to illustrate what happened! Thank you for stopping by; the Lord bless you :-).

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  4. I am reminded by your story that it is when we bring it all to him, everything, that He moves mountains, sometimes our own sweet selves, so that He is glorified. And nothing is too little or too big to bring to him. So glad that He meet your needs in abundance and the party was a success!
    Blessings,
    Dawn

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    1. Dawn, that truth is so precious--that "nothing is too little or too big to bring to Him." He is Lord of every detail; praise Him! Blessings to you, too :-).

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