Editorial: Even the Little Things Matter to God

Editorial by Elaine Buchanan/ Image by Michael Coghlan on Flickr

When I became a Seventh-day Adventist several years ago, one element of the church struck me as really strange: prayer. Little did I know how much prayer would impact my life over the next 20 years.

A few years ago, my pastor/husband and I were transferred to our third district in the Mountain View Conference. I began looking online for houses, but we couldn’t agree on many of them. We made a trip to our new district, got in touch with a realtor and sent him our list of about 15 homes. He scheduled a four-hour time slot for us.

That morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and fell to my knees. I began praising God, telling Him that I trusted Him, but also asking Him to intercede in our hunt for a new house. It seemed impossible to find something in four hours. I finally said, “Lord, please find a house that my husband and I both would love, and can you do it today?” 

As our realtor took us from house to house, none of them seemed right. Finally the realtor said, “I think you two would like to be more out in the country near the mountains.” We looked at each other and said, “Yes!” One of the houses we came to was one I had looked at online. The realtor tried to open the lock box several times, but it wouldn’t work. He said, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t get in this for another hour.” 

Having only an hour left, I was a little disappointed and began to lose hope. Then the realtor told us about another house around the corner. As we drove around the corner, we liked the neighborhood. We saw the two-car garage, which my husband wanted, the paved driveway, which I wanted, and we both thought this just might work. As we walked through the house, I noticed that every room was painted exactly to match my décor! I couldn’t believe it.  

On a side note, one of my favorite hobbies is coloring with wooden pencils. Not long ago, I noticed my pencils were getting dull, and the new sharpener I bought only made them worse. Finally I said, “I need an old-fashioned pencil sharpener!” That day, as we toured the house, we opened the door to another room, and there was the very pencil sharpener I was looking for. 

When I pray, one of my favorite scriptures I repeat is 2 Peter 1:4. God has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises” (NKJV). I know that God had prepared this perfect house for us. He cares about everything in our lives, the big and small, even the stress of moving. He had heard me plead with Him, and answered my prayer at just the right time. Be sure to spend time with God, claiming His promises today.

Elaine Buchanan is the Prayer Ministries director for the Mountain View Conference