The whole world in His hands

 It snowed yesterday. All. Day. Long. So I put some cinnamon and cloves on the stove to simmer, sliced some vegetables into the crockpot for a curry, and listened to Christmas music. Oh bliss! And I dressed Blondie for a photo shoot in the yard:

On the way home from town the other day, I was singing, "He's got the whole world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands..." A little voice piped up from the back, "Mom, can He hold Gigi's house in His hands?"

     Oh, yes. He can hold Gigi's house. He can hold the whole earth! And he can hold the sun, 
     the moon, all the stars, and all the other planets - all in his hands! 

     Wow. He must be really, really big. With really, really big hands!

     Yes, God is SO big - isn't that great? That He can hold everyone and everything in His 
     hands, and it can all fit...

     Mom?

     Yes?

     How small is the devil?


I wasn't quite sure how to answer this one at first, because the common question is usually, How big is the devil, not the other way around.

     Well, I guess the devil is as small as we make him. He would like us to think that he is big, so 
     he scares people and lies about his size. We can believe him and be afraid, or we can choose 
     to focus on God and how big He is. When we look at how big God is, the devil looks smaller.

............................................

Thank you, God for this time of beauty and wonder, all things becoming new as I see them through the eyes of my children. Help me to guard this time well, and to fill it with truth - the truth that You are good even when bad things happen, the truth that You care about people, You see all that happens. Nothing escapes Your sight. This can be a scary thing, or it can be a relief. The fact that You love justice can cause fear, or it can bring comfort. Help me to understand who You are better, so I can lead my children well. 

So be it.