Buttons and the faith of a child

It all started as I was talking to a sweet young friend to see if she would like some craft rhinestones to use for art projects with her little girls.  I added in the conversation,  that I had some doilies too if she was interested. She was excited to get both items but what she doesn`t know is that I found some old buttons  that I am adding into her stash.!  LOL..... I used to collect buttons but now, I have no use for them, cause my sewing days are long gone... I used to collect "craft" treasures to use, and inherited so many others from projects that Mother and I did together.  I still love these things. I could still keep them in their little boxes, neatly tucked in my full closets of things I may need one day. BUT, In my de-cluttering mode, that I am trying to do a little at a time, it makes me happy and gives me JOY to find homes for things that were once treasures to me... Her  bag is all ready to deliver soon but as I am still busy and moved on to other areas to re-evaluate if I like or not, (really? I ask myself, do I really need to move furniture from one area to another TODAY? and do I really need to go through that heavy basket underneath the table TODAY?) and moving a few things from one spot to another,I get to that heavy basket.  I lean over to pick it up, (and by the way...."OUCH!!" I felt that!!!  not as young as I used to be and these old bones don`t move quite as good as they used to.., )  to take in the den, close to my sofa, so I can sit for a minute and look through it. I wanted to look through BEFORE I toss any old books out,  just in case I might need something from there? I wanted to look through hurriedly so I could move on to something else on my de-cluttering  list and scratch this off.....I am about half way finished....  with one stack to indeed get rid of, one stack of torn out pages to save in a folder somewhere, just in case, and one stack to save as is, when I come upon this book.. I remember it. The cover is very familiar to me. Yes, it was hers. Yes, I kept it knowing it was special, but haven`t looked at it in a while.. So, I flip through the pages and come to a short story called, "Baskets of Buttons",  and of course, I sit down to read it..The author  starts off by saying under the title, "sometimes it is their childlike faith from daughters that the greatest lessons are learned."  and then she adds on the front page of the book, " I remember in the solitude of a moment shared, my mother became my friend."     Oh man, a tear jerker I am sure, is coming up, but I read it anyway..... just because....The author`s  daughter, Jennifer,  was 9 years old. She had been shopping  with her mother one day at the dime store,( remember them?, lol..) and had found her dream purse. The tag read, $8.50.  With money short, her mother encouraged her daughter  to save up and come back if she really wanted it. She was hoping it would instill perseverance and diligence in her daughter`s youthful  spirit.Several weeks went by and Jennifer came to her mom and said that she had saved the money and could they please go get the purse at the store?  Her mom cautioned her that it might be gone since it had been several weeks. With her daughter`s lips quivering, she answered back, "but I know it is still there. I saved the money for it, and I prayed. Please Mom, lets go and get it."As they got to the store, the purses from the display were indeed gone. They both looked diligently through the store and spotted it on the clearance table. It had been marked down to $6 but had several buttons that held the side together, missing.  Jennifer was delighted but  her mom was silently thinking it would be impossible to find little pearl buttons exactly  like the ones on there  to hold the purse together.  Jennifer just smiled and said "that is ok, Mother, I will   pray for them". How could this little girl have such faith, so childlike,  simple and   unconditional and yet so far from hers?  They went home with a slightly soiled and  broken,  bargain purse.That night, she  very gently washed it  and placed it with her other treasured things by her bed.  She woke up the next morning and cried out with excitement as she ran to tell her mother, the buttons were there!! They were on top of her purse.God had known how important they were to her. Hidden in lining, no one had noticed when they purchased the little purse that they were there.Through Jennifer`s eyes and faith, her mother had been reminded about something big. Nothing is too small for God to notice and touch with a blessing to encourage our hearts . If God could answer her prayer about missing buttons, He could hear her mother`s prayers for their lives.The buttons on the purse held it all together just like His love holds us together, if we just run to Him with our prayers and believe. When I read that little story, it  almost brought tears to my eyes. Something so simple as buttons can be reminders of His never ending love for us. Some people would say "Coincidence"    I don`t even go there, but I just stop and  immediately thank Him for caring enough and loving me enough  to send that little reminder  today... If He cares so much for the little things, how much more He cares for us when we reach out to Him... Did I finish all my de-cluttering list today? absolutely NOT. I will never be completely finished, I am convinced of that... but I did make a small dent and that is all I can expect. After all I do not want my expectations to become my biggest disappointments!!  That could happen easily if I put too much pressure on myself!!! So I just do a little along and continue to get that Joy, when the LITTLE is accomplished... which actually could be the BIG....Have a great week,Love, Jane