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And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:28-29

Ever feel a verse just sort of smack you across the forehead?  Mine is still red…

My son just turned 10.  Going into double-digits just feels like a significant milestone - he is now less of a “older boy” and more of a “young man”.  While we were planning the family activity day that we do in lieu of birthday parties it just struck me that most of what my son had to wear looked like little boy clothes.  I mentioned to my wife that while we were out we should stop and get him some one or two button-up shirts, a new pair of pants, and some shoes that weren’t sneakers—just so he’d have one dressier outfit to wear to church or to visit extended family.  She made a mental note of the idea and went on planning the weekend.

The day before we were to leave, a relative called to mention that she had caught wind of an unannounced sale the next day at one of the local chain stores.  We stopped on our way out of town, and couldn’t believe it - shirts for $1.50, pants for $2 - and a decent selection of my son’s sizes in stock.  The rest of us found items as well (a new winter coat for $10?  Sign me up).  We left about an hour and a half later with 4 large bags full of new clothes and had spent less than $90.

While driving on to our destination I pointed out to my son - who has voiced frustration over not being able to “see God” - that we in fact seen Him today, at a clothes store, answering our need in a real and immediate way.

And yet not a day later I caught myself replaying those sale prices in my head, and wondering if we shouldn’t have purchased even more clothes for the kids-- but in the next size range so we could create a little stockpile in the basement for the kids to grow into.

Yes - that’s the sad extent of my faith.  I have a need, God answers it in a very direct and clear fashion, and the next thing I can think of is stockpiling more—and why?  Just in case God doesn’t come through next time?

I hope someday my natural response will be to be more trustful, more expectant of God to provide - as he does the lillies of the field.  And not so much the stockpile.

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