We’re moving in about a month. We only just found out last week.
To say it’s been stressful and frantic around here, is an understatement.
I took my kids to Lowe’s to get paint and supplies because we’re doing all sorts of work on the house. I took the front of a kitchen cabinet to match the color. I put that cabinet door on the very bottom of my cart so it wouldn’t get scratched.
I told my kids, “Remind me when we get to the car about the door.” I knew I had been so sleep-deprived and stressed that I might forget.
And sure enough, the kids forgot, and I forgot.
And the next morning, I realized my mistake.
I frantically called Lowe’s first thing. No, they didn’t have it.
Drove over right away and combed the parking lot. There was hardly a cart in the lot that early. Nothing.
I went to the store, got down on the ground, and looked under every row of carts- nothing.
Walked down aisle after aisle, looking at the bottom of people’s carts- nothing. Went to opposite sides of the store and asked various workers about it. Nothing.
One guy went to check the back- nothing.
He took me outside to a huge dumpster that was sitting way up high, and they had to use a reach truck to bring it down. We went through the dumpster- nothing.
I walked slowly back across the huge parking lot to my car, feeling absolutely deflated. I asked God why. Why would he do this to me right now? He knows how I can barely sleep. How constantly I’m working. How hard I’m trying to remember everything. How many things are on my plate.
He sees me preparing for lectures, juggling the kids, and my fears about moving my family to another state I’ve never even been to, on top of the absolute mountain of work I have to do for the house… He sees all this and knows.
And yet now this? I forget one thing one time, and it’s a total disaster?? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW, GOD?!? We have 2 days left for house repairs, and then it’s time to put it on the market. Without a matching door, we’ll need to redo the kitchen cabinets, and that would take more time and money than we have right now.
I got back to my car and walked around the front of it. I stood looking out over the parking lot in despair because I had already checked and knew it wasn’t there. I turned to get in the car, and the stall –the empty one right next to my car for returning carts– had my cabinet leaning against it on the other side.
I was in absolute shock. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I walked around to view the front of it, and then burst into tears. Yes, I stood sobbing right in the middle of the Lowe’s parking lot.
My cabinet door was not just found, it was placed right next to my car.
The lesson God was teaching me was to stop worrying. He cares for me in every way. I am not caring for myself. I don’t have to remember everything and do everything right to avoid disaster. It’s not on my shoulders. I can rest in Him. He will LITERALLY hand me what I need. This goes for all of us. We do the work before us, but we don’t need to do it frantically or fearfully, because He is next to us. He is providing for us. He is orchestrating everything for our good. (Even when we forget or mess up.)
