On the Sparrow

A lesson learned: by Robin Thomas

When you are drying your hair and you hear a sound like jet engine going off right next to you, don't ignore it!

I followed the sound down the hall to our second bathroom where the toilet was spraying in every direction. Totally unprovoked. Spontaneous combustion, literally. Thankfully no one had been in the bathroom, so we are talking about clean water, a lot of it. In the 5 seconds it took me to discover the source, there was already a couple of inches of standing water. I dove into the spray to turn the valve off at the base of the toilet, CRISIS AVERTED.

Well, except for the cleanup.

But you know what my first thought was?

Not, "Are you kidding me, what next?

or "why does this always have to happen to me?" but "I'm glad I was here to turn it off and minimize the damage."

I have been thinking a lot about those little things that seem to be in place to make us thank our lucky stars. But is it really lucky stars, or God's plan.

Hmmmmm.

I read something this morning that said, "before Zacchaeus climbed the tree to see Jesus, God planted the seed to grow the tree. (Luke 19:3)

I actually read this before the "bathroom incident." Go figure.

God has planned ahead for us. Just because we don't see him working doesn't mean He isn't.

The order of things.

ORDER: (noun) arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method.

God is not linear, He is Omnipresent. He is not bound by time.

Ever wonder why you bought an item with no explanation, then a week later you need just that item? Luck? I don't think so. I like to call them "God moments."

I think God has a plan so intricate that He is involved in our lives every day. Not in a "Big Brother" type way, but in a "I knew what you would need" kind of way."

Remember the Sparrow.

Jesus talks about how God takes care of the cattle on a thousand hills and the birds of the air, The Sparrow. (Psalm 50:10-11; Matthew 6:26-27)

"His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

One of the most beloved hymns in our history is the song by this name, originally written in 1905 by Civilla D. Martin, as a poem based on a friend's response to how she could be so joyful as a bedridden cripple for 20 years. The poem was set to music by Charles H. Gabriel and has transcended time with recordings by Ethyl Waters (1975), Whitney Houston (2012) and Lauryn Hill (2017) to name a few.

Part of the lyric says,

Why should I feel dis­cour­aged,

Why should the sha­dows come,

Why should my heart be lone­ly,

And long for Heav’n and home,

When Je­sus is my por­tion?

My con­stant friend is He:

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me;

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me.

Jesus says, "Look at the birds of the air...are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26-27)

So, Thank You Lord, that when the hose decided to blow, I was just down the hall.