One of the habits I’m trying to restart this summer is going for a walk or run most mornings. I gained about 10 pounds during the time we were inpatient earlier this year and, although I know this is not the season to really tackle that, it is a slippery slope I don’t want to find myself going down. So, for the past few weeks I’ve been either getting up early to run by myself or packing the kids up in the double stroller immediately after breakfast and hitting the trail. If we’re not out by 8:00 am it’s gonna be a HOT one! Our city has an amazing set of walking/biking trails and the one closest to our house has a playground immediately adjacent to it. Once I finish my walk we stop at the playground for the kids to burn off some energy before the heat of the day.
Last week, I mentioned to Bryan that I probably needed to buy new running shoes. I can always start to feel my knees taking more of a beating once the support has worn off. The shoes I normally wear are not inexpensive and I really didn’t want to spend the money on new ones. I knew I would put it off.
Fast forward a few days later and a package arrives addressed to me. We’ve been getting a ton of boxes for the Christmas in July Toy Drive, so it wasn’t unusual to have 4-5 packages arrive each day. Bryan opened the box thinking it was more toys and calls to me from the other room “Your shoes are here”. Shoes? I didn’t order any shoes, did I? Was I sleep shopping on Amazon again? I walk over to see what the heck he’s talking about, and sure enough, there were a brand new pair of Nike Frees in a beautiful lilac color. What the heck? Where did these come from? And then I remembered a completely random text message I received about a week ago. A friend asked what size shoe I wore. I replied that I wore a size 8, but didn’t have time to follow up with “why?” and then promptly forgot all about it.
So why am I writing about shoes? Because, my friend, God provided. Yes, I know, they’re just shoes, but for me it was so much more. This was a small need, that frankly I could have lived without, but God showed me that he can take care of even the little things.
Do you ever try to control the little things in life because you feel like God has bigger things to worry about? First of all, God doesn’t worry about anything. He knows all. He IS all.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Pslam 147:5
It’s easy to fall into the habit of only trusting God with the “big” things in life. Our health, our family life, our jobs. But at what point do we draw the line between big and small? Eventually we find ourselves working to manage and fix everything in our lives. Surely God isn’t concerned with our boring, everyday troubles. What I’ve experienced in this season of life is that if we can’t (or won’t) allow God to take care of even the smallest things, how can we begin to trust Him with the big things. There’s no “bat signal” to turn on to call God into our lives only when we can’t handle things ourselves. He is always there, always present, always willing to care for us. Instead of working on fixing and managing, we should be surrendering every moment.
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for me? Jeremiah 32:27
Not even the smallest need is overlooked when we allow God to work in our lives. Not even new running shoes. For me, these shoes are a reminder that, no matter what, we are taken care of. We are loved beyond imagination.
Tomorrow is Layla’s next MRI. It will be our first look to see how this new treatment is working and give us direction into how we should move forward. Our family takes tremendous comfort in knowing that God holds Layla in His hands. I’d be lying if I said I had no fear, but what I do have is an overwhelming sense of peace. No matter the outcome we will be thankful she is with us today and trust that He will show us where we need to go. I’ve experienced Him providing in the smallest ways, so I know I can trust Him with the most important things.
Sara Stamp
Layla’s Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization funding innovative pediatric brain cancer research while bringing hope and help to families impacted by the disease.
Our Story
In October 2016, the Stamp family was devastated by the news that their 4-year-old daughter, Layla, had a form of pediatric brain cancer called Medulloblastoma. Even after surgery, months of chemotherapy and radiation, Layla’s cancer returned. For 14 months the family fought and tried every possible treatment available only to lose Layla on November 11, 2017, shortly after her 5th birthday.
During their journey, the Stamps learned just how little funding there was for pediatric cancers and also how difficult it can be for families financially. Layla’s Legacy was founded to create change in research, to be advocates of the disease and to help support families by offsetting costs where needed. In their mind, it was time to Do More for our kids.
