In the Shadow of the Most High

I KNOW two things. 1) That God exists and, 2) that God loves us (and by us, I mean everything, the trees, birds, goats, humans, fish and even the devil). There are huge things that make me aware of God's love. His sacrifice on Calvary. The fact that I'm alive.

I lived in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, was in Nigeria during the post 1996 election riots, and once stepped out of an SUV that had flipped over four times until it was crushed from almost every angle all without a single physical bruise (we'll talk about my emotional bruises later.) But, ironically, it's the little things, the "mini events" in my life that make me especially aware of God and extremely grateful.

For instance, last Sunday I tripped while the sermon was going on. I gracefully bumped into the drum sound booth, dismantling it completely. I also bruised my elbow and stubbed my toe enough for it to bleed. But, the best part was yet to come. When I made the mistake of turning around, I realized that the preacher had stopped preaching and everyone in the church was staring at me. So, back to the gratitude part. After that huge spectacle, I simply carried on with my business and it was a non-issue. No uproarious outbreak of laughter. No teasing. It was simply forgotten. No one ever mentioned it. I gave God meaningful praise that day.

As I walked to my car this morning, I had that sinking feeling as I realized no one was parked on the same side of the street as me. My eyes caught the multitude of street cleaning signs warning everyone who can read not to park on that side of the street. I also saw a man with a gauge thingymajig in his hand walking towards my car.

I started clack clacking in my heels towards my car. The man stopped and asked, "Is this your car?" When I sheepishly nodded. He shrugged and said, "There's nothing I can do."

I responded with resignation, "Oh, crap, you've already written the ticket." He paused for a while and then said, "No, I haven't. Go on with your day." He then left without writing a ticket.I got in the car and yelled, "YOU REIGN!" In that moment I was sure of my numbers 1 and 2 as mightily as if I'd seen the Red Sea part, a lame person walk, or a leper healed. They say the devil is the details. But, I think it's the opposite. God is in every detail. And, sometimes, it's through the tiny details, those small moments, that we can truly see that we're in His shadow.

Thoughts?