God’s goodness in the little things

In addition to working and being a wife and mother, I’ve had a lot on my plate with helping my elderly mother. Her health isn’t what it used to be and over a short period of time her need for support increased dramatically. In April I helped her pack up her home and move into a retirement village closer to where I live.

After all the initial moving stress was behind us, we were hoping that things would settle into a smooth rhythm. However, a few things happened in a short space of time to disrupt this.

Sadly, her much-loved companion dog died (she is in an independant two-bedroom unit and is allowed a pet). Subsequently she took in an older rescue dog. Then a month later she lost her car keys and she didn’t have a spare. 

It took two weeks of copious amounts of phone calls with the locksmith to get a quote and with the insurance company to process this quote.  In the interim I was constantly driving back and forth to check that she had enough groceries and whatever she needed. While I was still in the process of helping her with calls and emails, the lock on her gate broke and she had a plumbing issue. The lock was fairly straightforward and fixed by the retirement village’s handyman but the toilet required a plumber.

I managed to get hold of a plumber who fitted her in on the day. Just as we thought all the current issues were resolved, the following evening her plugs tripped the earth leakage and she spent the night in the cold without being able to boil a kettle, charge her phone or watch TV. 

The following day, I rushed down to her to try and help. The handyman couldn’t figure it out and our electrician was in Hermanus for two weeks. 

I popped into the office at the retirement village and asked for a recommendation.

 I phoned the recommended electrician and when he heard where my mom’s place was he said, “I’m in the area. Are you at your mom’s place now?” I explained that I was walking toward her unit as we spoke. 

As I reached my mom’s balcony, he said something odd. “Are you on the stoep?” “Yes?” I responded. “Look up!” 

I did and he waved to me from the adjacent building site where he was working that day. In no time he popped over and got everything running again – free of charge.

It was a real gift from God. One of those small kindnesses of God that really made my day. I’d been very stressed by all the things stacked one on top of another that my mom required help with in that short space of time. God really is the God who sees us. He knew what I needed and when I needed the load to be lightened. – Elise Kirsten

Genesis 16: 13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are God Who Sees”; for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?”

* Stock image used for illustrative purposes.