A Yard-Sized Answer to Prayer

Today's Headline:

God Cares About the Details!

Young Stay-At-Home-Mom Learns the Truth Behind the Rhetoric.

Ok, so I know we've all heard the bible verses, the sermons, and the mantra: God loves you. God cares about you. Yep, yep, we all nod our heads in agreement. Yep, yep, we all know the Sunday School answer to that one.

But what does that look like at 9:32 pm when I come home from teaching for two hours (on a night I'm supposed to be off) to a sick child who won't go to bed, a tired husband who is also getting sick, and a livingroom landmined with legos?

What does "God loves you" mean at 7:10 am when that same sick child wakes up early and you realize you can't take him to playgroup because he'll infect all the other kids and then the moms will hate you and say nasty things behind your back? When the sickie child still has more energy than the sun and you must now improvise new outlets for said energy?

I'll tell you what God's love means: a fenced-in yard.

I've wanted a yard for Caleb to play in since he started walking. Some place safe where he could romp and explore to his heart's content without endangering carpet, electronic devices, or himself. My dad has just such a yard at his house in Yucca. So do Jason's parents up in Washington.

And now, dear friends, I have one too. Because God loves me that much. ;-)

This yard isn't exactly connected to our apartment building. In fact, it's not even on our street. But down the cul-de-sac, around to the right on Campina, is a large (about an acre) enclosed area with grass, sand, and cement with a basketball hoop. Did I mention it was enclosed? With a fence. And gates.

She grins happily to herself.

But the best part? Caleb loves playing there. The grass and sand provide endless, if dirty, entertainment and this mommy doesn't have to chase him all over creation. See, it's fenced in.

I never saw chain link looking so good.

But here's the crazy part. That fenced-in oasis has been there since before we moved in. Sure, I knew it was there; after all, I'm not THAT oblivious. We only drive past it everytime we go somewhere. But for some unexplainable reason, I never thought to take Caleb. Only after experiencing my dad's yard, and my in-laws yard, when I was really really wishing I had one, did the Lord reveal to me what He had already provided. (Ok, so maybe I am a little dense from time to time).

Actually, Jason was the first to suggest taking Caleb over there. We take walks as a family several times a week, so one evening we discovered this little park-yard-oasis place, and Jason said "You know, Nicole, you could bring Caleb here to play during the day. It's fenced in."

And with that little remark, the lights went on.

See friends, what we've read and heard is true. God DOES care. Even about silly little things like yards. And that fact is totally blessing my heart today.

**Ok, I hate Blogger right now. It WILL NOT let me put spaces between paragraphs. ERRGGHH! Anyone know why?