This afternoon while I was sweeping the kitchen, my cell phone buzzed. It was my son-in-law Adam, from Florida:
“Your package just arrived. Linni’s away at a meeting and both kids were crying. Perfect timing! Thank you!”
Adam is a spectacular father, wholeheartedly involved with Skylar and Micah, ever patient, always kind. I wasn’t surprised to hear he was in the trenches of parenthood today, managing two fussy children. What did surprise me was that the package I’d mailed mid-week had arrived with “perfect timing.”
After I filled that box in Michigan (an exchanged birthday gift for Micah and a Mickey Mouse for Skylar), and after I taped it up and wrote the address on it, it sat on my kitchen counter for three days. Every time I walked past it I thought, “Oh golly, I’ve just got to get to the post office.”
I find it fascinating that after three days of procrastination, the package arrived with “perfect timing.” And there’s no other explanation except that God did it. His plan was to lift Adam out of a stressful moment and bring pleasure to two little children.
How many other nifty gifts does God put together for us day in and day out, when we don’t know it’s him? These things rarely arrive in boxes, but they might as well be gift-wrapped because of the special care our heavenly Father puts into sending them.
As young children we all memorized 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your care on him, for he cares for you.” Even without the front half of that verse, the last half is true by itself. God just plain cares for us.
The verse before that one also vouches for his care: “Humble yourselves… under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” Being lifted up by God himself when we are down? That’s tender loving care for sure. Humbling ourselves first, which is what Adam was doing by caring for his children today, is the prerequisite. We can all find ways to humble ourselves on a daily basis, and being lifted by God is a powerful motivator.
The verse even before that one describes another gift of caring God wants to give us: “God… shows favor to the humble.” So in three consecutive verses, he promises three gifts. He cares for us (v. 7), lifts us up (v. 6) and shows favor to us (v. 5). On a discouraging day when children are crying or other tensions dominate, we should actively look around for God’s care, knowing it’s on the way. This goes for both small concerns and large crises.
I think of Nate in reference to these verses. When he was assigned to go through the agony of terminal cancer, he humbled himself to God’s will, accepting it with grace. God did those three things for Nate. He cared for him through six weeks of uncertainty and pain, then showed him tremendous favor by lifting him into paradise, the ultimate in promises kept.
Today Adam was caring for Skylar and Micah. Simultaneously God was caring for all three of them, and he delivered a care package, just to prove it.
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.” (Naham 1:7)
