The other day, I mentioned to my husband I would be receiving a package in the mail. I admitted it was nothing I actually needed, but instead, just really wanted and had decided to purchase on a whim. With a loving smile, he walked over and kissed me on the cheek while saying he would keep an eye out for it. One thing my husband has learned about me is that at times, I can be just a wee bit impulsive. It is no surprise that if I see something I want, I tend to “want it now.” (I think Jesus had Amazon Prime invented specifically for me.)
Several years ago I decided to move my counseling office and began entertaining ideas of how to decorate my new front lobby. Stopping at a store on my way home one day, a picture on one of the corner walls caught my eye. This picture was of a beautiful golden tree with leaves that subtly changed into birds soaring upward in flight. Aware of my tendency to purchase things impulsively, (and since I didn’t need it just quite yet), I decided to wait on buying it.
Several months passed and the time came for me to move into my new office. I confidently went back to the store to purchase this picture, but to my dismay, it was no longer there. The clerk checked to see if he could order it online but returned with the news it was permanently out of stock.
In my determination to find this picture, I contacted the manufacturer and asked them if it was possible to check all of their stores to see if any of them still had this picture in stock. Once again, I was met with the news that not only was it not in stock, there were no plans to reproduce any more of these. My heart sank as I realized the picture I thought would be so perfect to hang in my lobby was never going to become a reality.
As I got into bed that night, I began to pray and tell the Lord how disappointed I was that the picture I wanted was no longer available for purchase. I went on to tell Him that this was one of the desires of my heart and I knew He cared about even the small things His children care about. Before drifting off to sleep, I ended my prayer with these words, “Lord, would you help me find this picture…“just because you love me?”
Three weeks went by when I received a message from one of my friends stating she thought she may have seen the picture I had previously described to her. Asking her where she thought she had seen it, she stated it was at the same store I had previously gone to and been told there was no way it would ever come back in stock. As I continued to listen to my friend describe it, I became more and more certain this was my picture!
Since I knew the store had already closed for the day, I decided to call my stepson and ask him to be there the moment the doors opened for business the next morning. When my stepson arrived at my home the following day, I was astonished to see the picture he was carrying was not the 40 x 40 unframed canvas print I had originally seen. Instead, it was the exact same print, only it was bigger! This one was 52 x 52 inches and framed in gold!
Ephesians 3:20 states, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, Amen.”
Psalm 37:4 tells us to, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
In the big scheme of things, my picture was really not that big of a deal. But to me, it was!
Be encouraged that there is nothing too big or too small to take to God in prayer!
He not only invites us to tell Him about the desires of our hearts, He delights in it… “just because He loves us!”
