Does God really care about me?

I walked into a store one Saturday afternoon to pick up a few things for the kids. I had a time budget as I needed to be home in time for my husband to leave for work. As I made my way to the checkout desk to pay, I stopped briefly at the ladies section and quickly scanned through some of the items. I love cardigans, so my focus was on those. I went from one to the other to see if there was any I fancied and there, tucked in the pile was one which caught my eyes. I quickly tried it on and could already picture the many ways in which it would work with a number of my other clothes.

Excitedly, I took it along to pay for it. On getting to the checkout desk, the lady scanned my items and as she tried to scan my precious cardigan, there was no tag on it. She looked up and said “i’m sorry there’s no price tag, so i can’t sell it to you, sorry”. In my mind, i thought, no way. There was a price tag on it when I picked it off the rack. She told me it was the only one left of that brand in store and so there was no way to find the price right then. I really wanted this cardigan, so i went back the way i came, scanning the floor to see if any tag had fallen. To my disappointment, there was no tag. She put out a message to their other stores to see what she could do to ensure i got to leave with the cardigan but got no response in the time i was there. Remember i was also time constrained so i didnt have much time left to wait in the store.

To help me, she told me i could come back the next day which was Sunday, promising to hold on to the cardigan for me till then after which she would put it back on the rack to be sold. That sounded very good to me so i made my way out of the store and headed home. On my drive home, i began to strategize on how i was going to make my way to the store after church the next day. I devised my plan in my head even though it was going to be quite tight as i had other commitments that Sunday but this cardigan, i wasnt going to let it go.

Later that evening, i began to think about my cardigan plans and all the energy i was already investing to make sure i got it; just then i asked myself why i was so consumed with getting it. I quickly paused and said to myself “Nnenna, it’s not that serious”. Afterall, i had other cardigans, i could well make do with what i had and whenever i had another opportunity i could take the time to look for another cardigan. At this point i felt a huge release, exhaled and just relaxed and i abandoned my plan of going back to the store on Sunday. This was so freeing. Sunday came, we had a lovely time in church and i went about the rest of my actvities barely remembering “my” cardigan. It honestly was not that serious in the grand scheme of things.

Fast forward to about 2 months later, i walked into this same store to buy gifts for my children’s friends who were celebrating birthdays. I had the day to myself, so also decided to check out a few things. Again i went to my cardigan section as there were many lovely ones. I began to look through the cardigans one after the other, trying to make a choice. Just then, my eyes caught one that looked like my beloved cardigan. I couldnt believe it. Was it the same one i had seen some months earlier? i dont know but it was the exact make, type and color . You can imagine my excitement. I quickly looked to see if it had a price tag. Yes!!! I grabbed it, holding the price tag so tenderly till i got to the checkout desk 😄. I made my way out of the shop with all my items and my precious cardigan. Wow.

As I’ve journeyed in God, beyond knowing that He sent Jesus to die in my place, giving me the gift of salvation, i love seeing Him demonstrate how much He loves and cares for me even in the “ordinary” things of life. On getting home, i knelt down (call me dramatic) and just reflected on how much God cares about me and poured my thanks on Him. Why would a God so big care enough for even the trivial things that delight my heart? a cardigan? But that’s the thing. Many times we think God cannot be bothered by the mundane and ordinary things that concern us but He is. Beside being God, Savior and Lord, He longs for us to see and experience Him as Father and friend. He is good and cares about every detail of our lives.

David in Psalms 8:3-4 says it this way:

“I look up at your macro -skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then i look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? (The Message bible)

The lesson for me is to not spend my life, my energy and strength trying to get anything by all means. I want to live freely, free from the bondage of pursuits and the endless desire to possess; rather, i want my life to just flow in worship and gratitude daily, thankful for what i hold in my hands today, knowing with a settled assurance that God loves me deeply, He cares about every detail of my life, and would meet my needs. I dont want to live a disgruntled life, constantly weary from striving, instead, i want to live joyful and content, believing with no shadow of doubt that He who made the universe and calls the moon and stars by name, knows my name and has His eyes on me and would do me good.

I’ll end with this scripture from Matthew 6:25-30

“This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided, such as food, water, clothing—everything your body needs. Isn’t there more to your life than a meal? Isn’t your body more than clothing? “Consider the birds—do you think they worry about their existence? They don’t plant or reap or store up food, yet your heavenly Father provides them each with food. Aren’t you much more valuable to your Father than they? So, which one of you by worrying could add anything to your life? “And why would you worry about your clothing? Look at all the beautiful flowers of the field. They don’t work or toil, and yet not even Solomon in all his splendor was robed in beauty like one of these! So if God has clothed the meadow with hay, which is here for such a short time and then dried up and burned, won’t he provide for you the clothes you need—you of little faith?”

– Are you so worried about your life, do your needs seem overwhelming?

– Do you find yourself caught in a cycle of perpetual striving that trust in God seems like a strange idea?

– Are you able to believe this truth today that He cares about you and would you want to abandon your striving and begin living a life of joy and gratitude?

– How have you seen God come through for you even in the ordinary things of life and how can that spur you on to keep trusting Him?

Thank you for stopping by to read. Our Heavenly Father cares for you. I pray you will see Him lifting your burdens today and that you will experience Him as more than enough in the days ahead ❤️