God Is In the Detail

One of the women in my Tuesday night Bible study will regularly comment that “God is in the detail.” She uses the expression to describe how God lovingly cares for even the smallest item in our lives. Having always heard, “the devil is in the details”, I like this expression better and was curious about its etymology.

According to Wikipedia “God is in the detail” came first and means that details are important. It has been attributed to different people but one of the earliest forms, "Le bon Dieu est dans le détail" ("the good God is in the detail") is generally attributed to Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880).

The “devil is in the details” was derived from “God is in the detail” and relates to the complication that can arise when the smallest detail goes awry. It sounds so typically human to take a positive expression and turn it into one with “negative” vibes.

Regardless, I like the original and my friend’s interpretation that God lovingly cares for the smallest and dearest.

Every so often I will read a Bible story and God’s lovingly care of the smallest detail will jump out at me. I was reminded of this recently with the Genesis story of Jacob moving his family to Egypt in the wake of the Middle Eastern famine. Joseph and his brothers are reunited. Joseph, being the second banana in Egypt and having Pharaoh’s blessing decides to have his whole reunited extended family move to Egypt so that he can care for them and ensure that they and their livestock survive. Jacob cannot believe that his beloved son Joseph is alive and when it finally sinks in, “his spirit revived.” An old man now, Jacob prepares to go to Egypt to see Joseph before he, Jacob, dies.

As is true with many of the Bible stories, what is not said is just as important as what is. Geneses 46 begins with Jacob beginning his journey. God speaks to him in a dream telling him not to be afraid, that God will go with him and that his son Joseph would be with him, even upon his death. He calls him, Jacob, his birth name. It seems to me a precious time similarly to when children are upset or anxious. As parents we soothe them by telling them, “Hush now child. I will be right beside you every step of the way.” We even call our child by our special nickname. Even if our child is justified in being anxious- perhaps it is a situation that has occurred before- we remind them that we will be with them.

I love to imagine the scene: Jacob has started on this journey- excited to see his son. But as is typical for most of us, in the middle of the night he begins to fret. “Is this such a great idea?” I imagine he is thinking. Jacob may have been recalling that both his father and grandfather had difficulties when they went to Egypt in the past. He may have been weighing the anxiety and fear of those experiences with the possibility of seeing his beloved son again. God lovingly addresses those concerns, calling him his birth name, “Jacob, Jacob… I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt,” (Exodus 46: 3-4)

God is in the detail. He was there every step of the way for Jacob and the family, just like He is in the detail of your life and my life. As Saint Augustine said, “ God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”

Many times I find myself chuckling quietly on how God takes care of the seemingly unimportant details. Things that are not important to the big scheme of life yet are things that touch our hearts or make us feel special. Recently we acquired a piece of property and, as with any purchase of something significant, I was feeling, “did we make the right decision?” As we were cleaning through the house, I found a Hawes watering can left by the previous owner. For me, that was a sign that all was and would be fine, for this English gardening brand was something I had obsessed about many years ago. (Shallow, ain’t I?) I wanted to acquire one and seeing it there just said to me that God even cares about the smallest things I care about. Down to the smallest, insignificant detail.

What about you? Do you see God in the details? Have you ever experienced His loving care of what you care about? Have you ever stopped and reflected on the minutiae of your life? Do you see God’s hand in it?

I am trying to appreciate each day as it unfolds. I am trying to listen for God’s voice as Jacob did when God called him and he answered, “Here I am.” I am trying to recognize how God is speaking into the smallest details of my life. And, I am trying to remember to thank Him for it.

Dandelions

The lowly dandelion.  The bane of existence for lawn aficionados.  The inexpensive green for foodies.  In every gardening book that I have, dandelion is classified as a weed.  The only exception are my wild flower and plant guides.  They have all sorts of tidbits and positive attributes about these plants. Raw dandelion greens are packed with Vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid as well as calcium, sodium and potassium. "...the lowly dandelion was so highly regarded as a tonic and general remedy by frontiersmen and early settlers long before the days of vitamin pills." (Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Bradford Angier)

I decided to pick some dandelions.  They are certainly a beautiful yellow color although looking a little more subdued than usual due to our wet weather conditions.  A dandelion flower is comprised of the yellow pedals resting on a verdant cup, composed of slender, pointed, green leaves, a few of which twist backward toward the cylindrical stem.  At night or during wet weather, the leaves of the cup lift and cover the gilded petals with their greenery.  Their heads are compact and they even have a nice scent reminiscent of marigolds.  Wonder why they got such a bad rap?  They are prolific, are edible, have medicinal use and are beautiful.  According to one source they were intentionally introduced to remind the Europeans of home. 

They sit on my desk as a reminder that even though there may be pesky and (seemingly) prolific problems in my life there is always something good about each trouble.  The problem may just me, needing to reexamine the situation.  I may need to get some perspective on what ails me.

Or, I need to try and take the problem out of context, (e.g. "If this was happening to a friend, what would I suggest or say...") What I think may be an ugly weed may have some beautiful and intricate details. Perhaps the situation is one to help me grow or cause me to be prolific in another way. (e.g. "I am learning patience...")  

Dandelions are a terrible weed problem if you don't remove them before they go to seed. What if you picked the flowers before they set seed?  Wouldn't that eliminate its spreading?  Plus you have the added benefit of a pleasant looking nosegay.  How many problems would be eliminated if I "nipped it, or certain behavior contributing to the problem, in the bud"? 

What about you?  Do you have a prolific and pesky problem in your life?  Is it like a dandelion gone to seed- all it needs is a gentle breeze, a slight change in the atmosphere and the problem is multiplied?  Is there a way you can embrace the situation?  Look at it from another lens or perspective?  Can you "nip it in the bud" before things become a total mess?  Is there a way you can embrace the beauty of a difficult situation? 

No Guarantees For Sunshine

As I was riding my bicycle in a steady rain on Sunday, I was reminded that there is no guarantee for sunshine.  Out of curiosity I did Google "where do they guarantee sunshine?"  Surprisingly there are some entities who will.  Priceline has a sunshine guarantee for booking at certain locations for a minimal amount of time.  An UK outfit, Oliver's Travels has a guarantee that they can destroy rainclouds so that you will have a perfectly sunny day for your outdoor event. Of course it will cost you $150,000 but 24 hours before your big event they will fly planes through the clouds above your event area dispersing a chemical called silver iodine.  The clouds will burst into rain so presumably the next day will be beautiful.  Sounds like a hoax to me and makes me wonder about the environment.

Basically there are no guarantees with weather. So, if there are no guarantees for sunshine, wouldn't the converse be true?  There are no guarantees for rain?  Why do we have the tendency to think that it will rain more than be sunny?  Shouldn't it be equally true?  One could argue that there is always a possibility of rain, but I would argue that there is always the possibility for sun.

When we are honest about it, isn't it good to have the variety of weather?   I am sure my San Diego, California friends would differ, but I think I might get sick of sun if that is what I experienced all the time. ( I know, hard to believe I would even think that, much less put that thought on paper due to my love of the sunshine.)

Rain has so many positive attributes: provides water for the earth and all its inhabitants; washes away air and soil impurities; provides a thriving environment for plants; molds and shapes the environment, etc. Certainly when one has rain, clouds and damp, day upon day, it can get depressing.  Although I know individuals who love that type of weather and thrive in it.  They look forward to rainy days.

Because there is no surety for sunny days, we should not be surprised when the rainy ones occur. Yet, when they do, like this past Sunday, we have a choice- be totally bummed out about it and scurry around to change plans or just go for it and continue on. I am glad that we pressed on and decided to ride.  If we had changed our plans, we would've missed out on the shared experience.  It was memorable and we will always be able to say that we did it. 

Are you going through a patch of rainy weather?  Does it seem like the sunshine in your life will never break through the clouds?  Hang in there.  Just as surely the physical clouds roll by and the sun rays shine forth, your troubles will pass. 

I am trying to look at life with the sun/cloud perspective:  I know that rainy days will occur and that they are needed.  But, there are just as many possible sunny days too.  And isn't that good?