Pillow Talk

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from the will of your Father.”  Matthew 10:29

It’s time for a little pillow talk—literally.

After several years of constant use and occasional abuse, the two decorative pillows adorning my couch direly need to be replaced.  Since such items aren’t necessities, I’ve been on the lookout for a “just right at the right price” find, and yesterday I thought my search was over.  There, sitting on the middle shelf at a local discount store, were my new pillows, simply begging to be bought.  I picked them up, looked them over, showed them to my daughter, then set them down to answer an important phone call.  Not wanting to be impolite to a nearby shopper, I stepped away for less than a minute, but in those few seconds, my pillows disappeared. 

“Where are they?” I asked incredulously, staring at the empty space before me.  “Did that lady really come over here and take them?”  Alas, the answer was, “Yes,” for as I gazed around the store, I saw my two perfect pillows piled on top of an already overflowing shopping cart in the checkout line and the pillow perpetrator standing nonchalantly beside them.

I must admit that for a moment I felt like being foul.  I needed those pillows (the rips in my old ones would cause you to agree.)  I wanted those pillows.  I had searched for those pillows.  I had found those pillows.  And now they were gone.  But right then, I heard my daughter’s voice saying, “Mom, I can’t believe that lady took them!” and I knew I had to choose.  Would I let something so insignificant as pillows steal my joy and suppress the happy time I was having with my child—or would I not? So I laughed and said, “I can’t either, but obviously God has other pillows in mind for our couch or else He would have kept those safe.”  As she looked at me quizically, I continued, “I’m serious.  The more you trust God with the little things in life that don’t turn out like you’ve planned, the less frustrated and upset you’ll be.”

Do I really believe that?  Do I really think that the God of the universe cares about my couch?  Yes— not because of my décor but because I am His daughter, and if a half-penny sparrow “will not fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father”(Matt 10:29), then lovely brown pillows won’t depart the second shelf without His approval either. 

Somewhere around town, that lady has been relishing her great deal, and across the way, this lady has been reminded of a great deal.  In things big and small, our faithful God and can and should be trusted.  He will provide what we need, when we need it, and how we need it.  “So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows”(Matt 10:31).

And many pillows.