God's providence in all aspects of our lives

It was almost his second birthday. And among so many joys and conflicting emotions, the question still remained unanswered: how do we buy the 'Thomas trains'? That was the gift that Samuelito wanted for his special day. Some colorful braids carved in wood.

Actually these toys are very pretty. However, the beauty does not remedy the fact that each "little train" has almost one eye of the face. The English creators of this concept managed not to lose a hundredth of their investment. To add insult to injury, “Thomas the Train” cartoons bombard television bands every day like sharks looking for easy prey. And so, day after day, little Samuelito at 11:30 am in the morning faithfully tuned in to his favorite dolls. As soon as the episode ended, the boy used the claim of the "insistent widow" from Luke 18: "I want Thomas's trains"!

After doing the calculation, my wise wife concluded that the toys that the boy wanted so much were out of our reach. At the time of the event, I was a student at Yale University Theological School and did the odd “job” working in the university library. My wife did the same working as a part-time translator in the early intervention program in New Haven. To all this, we were in the middle of a substantial legal conflict with the New Haven school district due to the denial of resources and the lack of an appropriate school for my girl with special needs. We are also litigating at the federal level against the health insurance system known as “Medicaid” for refusing to cover autism therapies for our daughter. To make matters worse, our house in the city of Boston was on the verge of foreclosure thanks to tenants who did not fulfill their contractual responsibility. "There will be another time for the toys" —I said in my mind to the idea of getting Thomas and company.

But my wife, prompted by the Holy Spirit (now I understand it that way) decided to go on her birthday to a store in the area where people donate clothes and items they no longer want to later be put up for sale at a price. extremely reduced. His audacity was so great that my wife decided to take Samuelito with her because she was sure that there they would find Thomas' trains for my son. The problem was that we knew the establishment too well. In the years that we frequent this store (3 years / at least 2 times a month) we have never seen a Thomas train there. All this changed that cold day in February. In a small plastic bag, hanging from a solitary display case was an assortment of 27 little trains from the Thomas series, all for the price of $ 7, (about what each separate train costs in the regular market). This is how my child celebrated his second birthday. (Samuelito is almost 4 years old by now and until today we have never seen another Thomas train in the store again.)

Now much is said about the providence of God. Every time we want to exalt his holy name we remember the countless majestic deeds of our God. But if we analyze well, the power and majesty of God is also glimpsed in the insignificance of some “little trains”. In the midst of the most economically and emotionally difficult times for my family, where we could not provide for the infantile needs of a 2-year-old boy, God stood out for us. There is no doubt that the "Thomas" thing can be seen by many as an insignificant whim. The truth is that I believe that that day, there was not a happier child on the face of the earth than Samuelito.

The principle to be highlighted is that if God moves heaven and earth for what seems insignificant, how much more will he not do the same for what is truly important to us? Here is the true display of the absolute sovereignty of God in the cosmos. Nothing escapes our God. Jesus in Matthew 6:26 tells us: “Look at the birds of the sky, they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they? "

My wife's audacity in the face of God's incomprehensible providence instilled courage in the entire family to fight to graduate from Yale, to fight in court against irresponsible tenants and not lose the house, to fight for schools and health insurance appropriate for people like my daughter. We have had to go through valleys to spare but God's providence and sovereignty continues to be the north in our lives.

Conclusion: Do not give up and have faith, because the Lord Jesus Christ goes before us with his sharp “machete” making our way through the undergrowth.