Here’s a mini-praise report.

The 1st year of the builder’s warranty on my house is about to expire, so they’re fixing all the little things that cropped up as the home settles. One of those is the hardwood floors - was a loose board which could develop into a safety hazard over time.

My wife and I marked the floor so we knew which board to have them work on, but when when I heard the guy pull up for the appointment, I looked over and the tape was gone. My immediate thought was not nice - thought things like, “Wouldn’t you figure the one time a contractor shows up early…” and other “woe is me-isms”

He came in and for some reason the board wasn’t immediately obvious. The humidity had just dropped significantly so maybe the board settled back in. So I didn’t waste his trip (and look like an idiot), I scrambled around started knocking on the boards. In the process I found 3 other boards that needed to be fixed!

I’d like to tell you that I prayed some wonderful prayer like, “Jesus, please help me find this board so I don’t waste this guy’s trip” or “Jesus, please help my incessant whining,” but I didn’t. God helped me anyway and worked a series of circumstances so the house was fixed correctly.

Dedicating My Home to the Lord

Back when the house was built, we actually prayed a blessing over the plot. At the time I felt like a little silly, but you know what? Our house turned out awesome! Some of our neighbors had all kinds of problems but the builder did a nearly perfect job on ours. That certainly doesn’t reflect on my attention to detail or negotiating ability - I’m actually the guy who struggles with blowing up when conflict arises. I am 100% confident that the Lord helped us with this, when that wasn’t really our intention when we dedicated it.

What kind of prayer was it? I don’t remember for sure, but we walked around and prayed that this home would be set apart for the Lord’s work, and that he would give us wisdom to raise our children and entertain guests in a manner that would be pleasing to him and fulfill his purpose. We still have quite a ways to go in walking that out, but there’s time, and the Lord is patient.

Who cares about fixing hardwood…

Sure, this is a trivial situation, but isn’t that what 99% of life is in between those dramatic moments? God cares about everything, and no detail is too small for him - his ability to multitask is limitless So many times I put the “god part” of life in one bucket, and then there’s the “rest of life” bucket. God wants it all in one bucket and will show us how to dig through it.

So hopefully my story encourages you. God helps us even when we don’t ask (probably work out better if we did, though), and God always works things for good, even if we don’t understand the why or how. I’ve seen it in situations that immediately resolve, and I’ve seen it in situations that take years to unfold.

Have a blessed day!

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