God Is in the Details

I was only twelve years old when I left the church.

The years passed quickly, and at the age of seventeen, I started a computer programming course on Saturday mornings. The classes were held just in front of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Seeing the church again, I felt a little nostalgic and started to miss my childhood. I picked up my Bible and started to read Genesis. The story of Joseph moved me, but when I read Joshua, I could not accept how a God of love could order the killing of everyone, including women, children, and even animals. I stopped reading. I thought I was better than God! Months passed. One day I decided to clean my house. There was a closet in which my father kept the church literature. Sitting on the floor, I picked up all the books and magazines and started to organize them. One book caught my eye. Its cover was blue—my favorite color.

I decided to read it. It was called Patriarchs and Prophets by Ellen White. After I had finished reading it, my mind opened, and everything was clear.

I finally understood that God is love. Despite my new understanding of God’s love, I did not go back to church. There was a dance in town, and some friends and I planned to go. I needed a new outfit. Although I favored wearing pants, a beautiful blue dress on display in a store window caught my eye. I fell in love with it, but I knew it was too expensive for my father to buy. I came up with a plan. I told him that if he would buy the dress for me to go to the dance, then I would promise to go to church the following Sabbath.

He agreed. That night at the dance, the Holy Spirit was at work in my heart. I did not feel like dancing. The Holy Spirit was opening my eyes, and I began to see the futility of my lifestyle. The allure of the world’s pleasures was broken.

The following Saturday I kept my word and went to church, and I never stopped going. I am amazed by how God works in such a personal way.

Twice He used my favorite color to get my attention.

No detail of our lives is unimportant to God.

Whatever you may be living through at this moment, my friend, I know that the God who created the universe knows every detail of your life, and He is working to draw you closer to His heart of love.

Isabel Cristina de Almeida