“Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders—he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin.” Psalm 55:22 (The Message)
As I sit here typing, in between making macaroni and cheese for our oldest before heading out to his band concert, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and feeling so thankful that my Father cares about the details.
When we first started this adventure in 2013, I was scared that God would make it so I had to start working outside the house again. Working outside the house isn’t bad. I’m not condemning it – I just know for me, my desire has always been to be a stay-at-home mom and working from inside the home has helped to meet that heart desire while still contributing to our family’s income. Mothers who work outside the home have my utmost respect. There are never enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished and then to have to spend 40+ hours a week away from the home while still juggling all the responsibilities – it feels overwhelming to me. So that was a big fear of mine back in the summer of 2013. God answered my prayer back then with “Nope, not now” and supplied enough income for me to continue to work from home.
This January, when faced with the complete loss of income, I was again struck with the thought of, “Is God telling me now is the time I need to get a job outside the home?” I even went so far this time to apply for a few jobs, working part time in the community, to see if that was part of His plan. I was truly okay with that choice if that was His will for our lives at this time. I wouldn’t be honest, though, if I said I didn’t shed a few tears thinking about leaving them all day Saturday and going off to work or coming home late at night and then fulfilling my other responsibilities on the computer while neglecting them even more.
However, God is invested in the details. He knew that for this particular time in our lives, I’m still needed at home. He made that clear in so many different ways, including that I didn’t get hired for any of the outside jobs I applied to. (I wonder if tear stains on a job application are a deterrent to hiring?) He instead gave me clear direction on what parameters of a job He wanted me to pursue (how many hours and what pay range) which makes me believe He had something really special in store. And He gave me back the blessing of getting to work from home. He is starting to branch out my abilities, though, through this new job and it’s exciting. I do believe He is eventually going to have my job include work both in and outside the home, but when that happens, all the details will fit as well. I believe it will be in my area of talent and it will be exciting…not something that brings sadness but instead brings joy.
The point of today’s post is this: God cares about the tiniest of details of your life as well. Even when it feels like He’s being silent, He’s still working. He sometimes will bless us with things we didn’t even know we wanted but He knew would make us over-the-top happy.
You may have no desire to multitask by doing laundry, writing blog posts, working for two companies and cooking simultaneously, but that kind of chaos brings me joy. I’d love to hear how God has worked out the details for you in your lives as well. Please take the time to share while I go stir the macaroni.
© Cheri Swalwell 2015