The Little Things

I've found that if I don't look for God's hand in the little things, I will be pretty disappointed.  He doesn't always reveal Himself through big miracles or a loud booming voice.  Most of the time it's through a song, or a conversation with a friend, or a passage of Scripture, or even through a hazelnut hot chocolate with tons of whipped cream.  :)


Sometimes my days here can be a bit monotonous.  If I don't make an effort to do some different things or add some variation to my schedule, I can start "going through the motions", and I don't like that.  On Mondays and Tuesdays I do a pretty good variety of things...I go to Mass in the morning, and then my afternoons are busy with random tasks for the Community of Nazareth, childcare or youth programme preparations, or babysitting.  On Wednesdays and Thursdays, however, I go into Spirit Radio after Mass.  I take the bus to the station, and it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get there.  It's always the same old bus ride...I see the same old buildings, the same old houses, and the same old roads.  I sometimes look out the window and think to myself, "I'd like to stop in that bookstore/coffee shop/church/etc."  But I usually don't.  I'm either trying to get in to Spirit Radio or trying to get home for dinner.  Except this one day...


About a week and half ago, I was working at Spirit Radio and during my lunch break I asked one of my "co-workers", Jim, to tell me his testimony.  I had heard bits and pieces of it before from him and from other people, and I knew he had a really cool story.  Anyway, he shared his testimony with me over lunch that day and my heart broke while I listened to him talk about the horrible life he had before he found Jesus.  He lived most of his life in an orphanage and was treated terribly there.  He said that one day he went out to find Jesus because he just knew He was "out there" somewhere.  I couldn't believe he went out searching for Jesus...I mean, I think if I had been in his position I wouldn't think God existed!  But he said he somehow just knew God was there.  Anyway, to make a long story short, one of Jim's friends invited him to a prayer meeting once.  This was after he had left the orphanage. Reluctantly, Jim went to the prayer meeting with his friend.  He said he remembers them singing a song that said something like, "I will praise you God, for You have been good to me."   Jim said he felt really angry when they were singing that because he honestly didn't feel as though God had been very good to him.  Someone saw that he was angry and offered to pray with him.  After Jim received prayer, he cried out to God and said, "Even though I've been through all these horrible experiences in my life, I know You're still there."  And right then he was hit with the power of the Holy Spirit.  He said he just started crying, but that he experienced the peace of God like never before.  He experienced this peace so powerfully he said it felt like oil was being poured over his head and was running down his face.  When Jim told me this, the line from Psalm 23 came into my head:  "You anoint my head with oil...my cup overflows."  He said that right after that, he prayed to invite Christ into his heart.  I went back to my desk after Jim told me this story, and I was really blessed by it.  I had this feeling that I, too, wanted to experience the presence of God like that.  I prayed to God and said, "God, I want to experience You and Your peace like Jim did."  God responded right away and said, "I've manifested Myself to you many times..."  I told Him that I wanted Him to do it again...I wanted a fresh experience.  I didn't hear Him say anything back to me, but somehow I knew He would grant my request.  


I got done with my work at Spirit Radio a bit early that day.  I had about 2 and a half hours to spare before I had to be home for dinner, so I thought "Perfect!  I can stop somewhere on the way home!"  I got off the bus in Blackrock Village, which is somewhere I've always wanted to stop because of the cool Starbucks.  There's this big old Post Office building that has been converted into a Starbucks (found this picture on Google Images).  The bus I take on the way home from Spirit Radio stops right outside the Starbucks...and I always end up peering in the windows.  I look at all the comfy looking chairs and the cool art on the walls and think about how much I'd love to go inside.  Well that day I got to actually go inside and SIT in the comfy looking chairs and SEE the cool art on the walls.  I ordered a hazelnut hot chocolate and it was absolutely delicious.  The barista put a ton of whipped cream on top, and she even drizzled some chocolate on top of that!  Like I said...it's the little things that matter the most.  After I ordered my drink I did a little exploring and discovered that the back of the Starbucks has a gorgeous view of Dublin Bay.  You can sit and enjoy your coffee while looking out at the water.  :)  I sat there in the comfy chair drinking my hazelnut hot chocolate and looking out at Dublin Bay, and I couldn't help but think about how perfect that moment was. 

 It was just me, relaxing, not worrying about what time it was or what time I had to be back home.  I was just living in that moment.  While I was sitting there I pulled out my little notebook I keep in my purse because I felt like God was trying to tell me something and I wanted to write it down.  This is what I felt like God wanted me to write:  "I love You, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship You.  Oh my soul, rejoice!  Take joy, my King, in what You hear.  Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear."  I read it after I wrote it down and I thought, "Why did I write that?"  I had no idea why those specific words had come to my mind.  I thought, maybe God wants me to take that literally and sing?  Or maybe He wants my life to be a sweet song to His ear?  I wasn't quite sure.  I closed the notebook, finished my hot chocolate, and left Starbucks.

I walked outside and just kind of window-shopped for a while.  I walked a little further up the road until I came to a big, beautiful church...St. John the Baptist.  I'd passed by this church on the bus many times, but like the Starbucks, I'd never stopped in.  As I stood in the road and looked up at the church, I felt kind of like God was beckoning me to come inside.  I thought, "Why not," and I walked up the steps and into the church.  I was immediately overwhelmed by God's presence in that church.  Something about the way the lights were shining...it seemed like there was light actually coming out of the tabernacle, rather than shining on it.  I smiled as I thought about how very present God was in this church.  I almost started to  cry, but I felt instead as though God wanted me to sing.  I looked around and realized there was no one else in the church.  Just me and God.  So I just started singing the first song that came to my mind..."Your name is like honey on my lips, Your Spirit like water to my soul.  Your Word is a lamp unto my feet.  Jesus I love You, I love You." 

 I started out kind of quiet but as the Holy Spirit led me I let my voice grow a little louder.  I loved the way my voice bounced off the walls in there.  I walked around singing and admiring the beauty of the church, and I truly felt like God was smiling down on me from Heaven.  I felt His peace all around me and again it almost made me cry.  It was such a cool experience!

It wasn't until late that night when I was writing about the day in my journal that I finally put the pieces together.  My singing in that church was a direct answer to the words that I wrote in Starbucks.  I wrote, "May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear."  It didn't make sense when I wrote it, but I realized that that was exactly why I started singing in that church.  I was lifting my voice to worship Him.  How cool...I told God earlier that day that I wanted Him to reveal Himself to me like He did with Jim...and He did!  He did it little by little...from hearing Jim's story, to speaking to me at Starbucks, to my singing in the church, to feeling Him smiling down on Me and wrapping me in His peace.  


"It's the little things that make a difference...it's the little things that show love."  - JJ Heller ("Little Things")