During this Christmas season, I will be blogging several short stories from my life that relate to my past Christmases. Have you ever thought of asking the Lord to help you with your Christmas shopping? One surprising incident taught me to do it all the time.
Due to a painful back condition, I cannot walk very far without great discomfort. At shopping malls, I try to park close to the entrance nearest the particular store I'm planning to visit. That day, I was looking for a certain gift item, and the store I intended to shop in didn't have an outside entry. I drove around the mall from one end to the other, but every parking space near an entrance was full. I must confess that I was grumbling to the Lord about the situation.
After driving at least three-fourths of the way around the large mall, I finally found a space. It was a little farther from the store I intended to visit, but I thought it was doable. I exited my car and walked to the entrance. There, just inside that door was the very item I was looking for! I didn't even need to ascend to the upper level of the mall to the store where I thought I'd find it.
"I'm sorry, Lord," I prayed. "Please forgive me. I was grumbling about the parking, and You knew exactly where I would find what I wanted. You prepared the right parking space that would lead me to it."
Now, even when it's not Christmas, I ask the Lord to prepare a parking space for me close to where I'm going. And He does. He cares about every detail of our lives.
That incident reminded me of a chorus we used to sing in church when I was a girl: "The Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is to follow...." Even in the seemingly insignificant things of this life, like finding the right gift to bring happiness to a special person, the Lord wants us to commit it all to Him, to trust Him to help us in everything.
This Christmas season, don't let the stresses get you down. Instead, "commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you" (Psalm 37:5, NLT).
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