Divine Providence and a Trip to the Dollar Store

How much do you depend on God? Do you really abandon yourself to His providence or have you ever done so? Recently, my nine-year-old son took me aside to confidentially announce that he was preparing a surprise for everyone on Easter Sunday. He wondered if I could go with him to the neighbourhood dollar store to purchase the items he needed, and I quickly said yes, noting how thrilled he was at the twin prospect of surprising everyone (especially his two youngest siblings) and spending his own money in the process.

In the end, although it was my husband who ended up accompanying our son to the dollar store that Black Saturday, we gained a wonderful insight into what Our Lord meant when He said:

Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt 18: 3-4, RSVCE).

In Conversation with God

All I told my husband before they left was that our son was getting some things he needed to prepare a treat for the family. Neither one of us knew exactly what our son was buying; only that this was important to him and he was clearly very excited about it. He talked about it in hushed tones with me, lest his siblings heard anything of his planned surprise.

When little children are excited about something, they can barely stop talking about it. (Or at least this is the case among the children in my family…) They want others to share in their excitement. You and I are children of God. We ask Him for things and complain at times, but do we share our joys and excitement with Him? This is part of the intimacy we build and strengthen in our relationships with those whom we love.

What Others Like

Our son was in the dollar store with his dad for about fifteen minutes. He came out clutching the bag containing the elements of his surprise, a look of purposeful joy on his face. In the bag was an eclectic collection of items: a bag of Double Bubble gum, a pack of Reese’s peanut butter chocolates, a small bag of Kinder Bueno chocolates, a large bag of miniature marshmallows, and a litre of apple juice in a box. All of these things had been purchased with one thing in mind: someone in the family liked at least one of them. This little boy’s goal was clear: he wanted to make his family happy.

Are we child-like enough to pay attention and notice what others like and need? Often, children are discounted in terms of what they can know and understand. The truth is that children – even the very youngest ones – do notice things around them, much more than we realize. It probably comes from being small and passing unnoticed when adults are busy going about the important business in which they are engaged. We too are small enough to be able to notice what others may need or want. It is in caring for and thinking of others that we are able to make real God’s presence in the lives of others.

Making It All Possible

My husband told me that when they got the cashier, he let my son place all of the items on the counter to be scanned. When this was done and the total amount payable came up, our son stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and carefully pulled out a plastic sandwich bag about a third full of various coins. My husband took one look at our son’s coins in the sandwich bag and offered to pay for the purchases first and be reimbursed later at home. Quickly agreeing with his dad, our son pushed the bag of coins back into his pocket and happily held onto the shopping bag of his purchases.

Do you ever feel as if you were sorely lacking in whatever it is you need in order to face up to the challenges of life? I know I do – too many more times than I want to bother counting. I am my son, reaching into my pocket for my own sandwich bag of collected change and stuff: an assortment of coins, a button or two, a paper clip, a gum wrapper, and some tissue paper. What I have is never enough. The bill is always more than I can possibly or ever be able to afford. Yet, my Father God takes the very little I have and makes it all work for the good. I simply have to place my trust in Him, and this is easier said than done.

The Hardest Thing to Do

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will (Mt. 10:29, RSVCE).

My son walked into that store with his dad confident that he would be able to do what he had set out to do. He had whatever money he had in his pocket, a clear purpose of what to get, and his dad by his side. Trusting his dad was something which came naturally to him. He loved his dad and knew from experience that he would be helped if needed.

We are invited and encouraged by our heavenly Father to trust in Him, remembering that even when we have been unfaithful to Him so many times, He has never failed us and never will. Still – as amazing as His track record has been, many of us hesitate, falter, are fearful, or cannot bring ourselves to fully abandon ourselves to our Father God. For we who thrive on security, backup plans, and covering all our bases, this is a difficult thing to do.

It is difficult, but as with anything of God’s, it is not impossible. Jesus wants us to be like little children who put their whole life and self in the hand of their Father. He holds our hands and will not let go. We must not either.

A Prayer

To help us along, I end with this prayer of abandonment to Divine Providence written by Saint Josemaria Escriva, for you and for me:

My Lord and my God: into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future, what is small and what is great, what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot, things temporal and things eternal (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way of the Cross, Seventh Station Jesus falls a second time,  Number 7)