By David Hobbs
The Lord is not only involved with the major events of life; He is present in the subplots as well. In fact it’s in the minutiae of our lives that He sometimes surprises us the most. Nothing is too insignificant to Him, not even dental floss.
I started out the book tour with a new container of dental floss, but only the 50 yard size. Since I average 2 ½ feet per daily flossing, it occurred to me early on that it was going to run out before the end of the 90 day tour. Since I flossed late at night when few stores were open, I couldn’t sit back and wait till it ran out. I needed to have more on hand for when that time came. I resolved to buy more the next time I was in a supermarket or drugstore.
But that proved easier said than done. Almost all my shopping was in little convenience stores. I would never think of floss anyway during my busy days driving, doing book signings, meeting pastors…. But every night, the last thing before going to bed, when my eyes rested on that plastic dispenser, the memory came back, “I’ve got to get more dental floss!” This continued for most of the summer. The few times I did get to grocery stores for food, I wouldn’t remember dental floss until that night when I pulled it out again and the thought hit me. “Oh no! And I was at a grocery store today! I’ve got to remember before it runs out.” Yet each night the faithful old container yielded up enough to floss with.
Finally, about mid-August, as I was preparing to leave my folk’s house in Ohio to start back toward Calif. I had a breakthrough. I needed to go to a supermarket for supplies and I was fixed on remembering the floss. I didn’t know why it hadn’t run out already, but there had always been enough for one more night. And this time I did remember!I bought the dental floss and threw it into my cart with the other food supplies for the trip. Glory! I brought most of the stuff into the house except for one small bag that got left in the car. That night I was relieved and happy to think l had made it without running out and at last I was ready for the old roll to expire. But at flossing time I couldn’t find the new roll! I searched and searched until I realized I had left it in the one little bag still in the car. I had showered and wasn’t about to put my clothes back on and go out rummaging around in the dark for it. So close but still not there! But once more the old roll yielded up what I needed.
I started out the book tour with a new container of dental floss, but only the 50 yard size. Since I average 2 ½ feet per daily flossing, it occurred to me early on that it was going to run out before the end of the 90 day tour. Since I flossed late at night when few stores were open, I couldn’t sit back and wait till it ran out. I needed to have more on hand for when that time came. I resolved to buy more the next time I was in a supermarket or drugstore.
But that proved easier said than done. Almost all my shopping was in little convenience stores. I would never think of floss anyway during my busy days driving, doing book signings, meeting pastors…. But every night, the last thing before going to bed, when my eyes rested on that plastic dispenser, the memory came back, “I’ve got to get more dental floss!” This continued for most of the summer. The few times I did get to grocery stores for food, I wouldn’t remember dental floss until that night when I pulled it out again and the thought hit me. “Oh no! And I was at a grocery store today! I’ve got to remember before it runs out.” Yet each night the faithful old container yielded up enough to floss with.
Finally, about mid-August, as I was preparing to leave my folk’s house in Ohio to start back toward Calif. I had a breakthrough. I needed to go to a supermarket for supplies and I was fixed on remembering the floss. I didn’t know why it hadn’t run out already, but there had always been enough for one more night. And this time I did remember!I bought the dental floss and threw it into my cart with the other food supplies for the trip. Glory! I brought most of the stuff into the house except for one small bag that got left in the car. That night I was relieved and happy to think l had made it without running out and at last I was ready for the old roll to expire. But at flossing time I couldn’t find the new roll! I searched and searched until I realized I had left it in the one little bag still in the car. I had showered and wasn’t about to put my clothes back on and go out rummaging around in the dark for it. So close but still not there! But once more the old roll yielded up what I needed.
The next morning I remembered, dropped what I was doing, made a bee-line for the car, grabbed the bag, found the floss and put it with my things in the bathroom.
That night, at long last I was ready. It had taken me almost the whole summer, but there was the new floss container, and the old one still hadn’t run out. I wondered how many times the Lord in His graciousness had had to stretch the floss in the old container while He waited patiently for me to get it together and buy the new one? Night after night when I vowed again to remember and mentally kicked myself for forgetting! Oh well, Praise the Lord. Now that I had the new one in hand, I might as well keep using the old one until it ran out. I picked it up and gave it a pull. The last 3 inches came out and the spool spun freely. The Lord’s timing was perfect once more!
That night, at long last I was ready. It had taken me almost the whole summer, but there was the new floss container, and the old one still hadn’t run out. I wondered how many times the Lord in His graciousness had had to stretch the floss in the old container while He waited patiently for me to get it together and buy the new one? Night after night when I vowed again to remember and mentally kicked myself for forgetting! Oh well, Praise the Lord. Now that I had the new one in hand, I might as well keep using the old one until it ran out. I picked it up and gave it a pull. The last 3 inches came out and the spool spun freely. The Lord’s timing was perfect once more!
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