The Lost Teddy

My favorite toy as a child was a small and dirty teddy bear. This bear was originally blue but, over time, had lost all its fur as my fingers rubbed at it, seeking comfort. It also had no nose or mouth after I chewed them off as a teething baby. 

These imperfections made me love this bear even more but were not appreciated by my mother, who couldn’t understand my need to take a dirty old bear with me everywhere. It was so special to me that if I didn’t have my bear, I couldn’t sleep at night. I was not happy unless I had the comfort of this bear with me at all times.  

I can remember vividly the time when I lost this special bear. I had frantically searched all over the house, in every little nook and cranny, like the woman in the Bible who lost her coin, but it was nowhere to be found. Tears streamed down my face as I told my mother about my loss. Seeing how heartbroken I was, she suggested that we have a prayer to ask for God’s help in finding my lost bear. 

We knelt beside her bed, and we began to pray. “Dear Jesus, Danelle has lost her special bear. Could you please help us find—” At that exact moment, my wandering hands touched something very familiar under the bed. “Mom! My bear! I’ve found it under the bed!” 

Just like that, in the middle of the prayer, asking for God’s help, I had found my bear right underneath where I was kneeling to pray.  

This memory has stuck with me through life. It was a moment where God showed me how much He cared for even the smallest details of my life, even something as insignificant as a lost teddy bear.

God Cares for All

The Bible has many examples of God caring for these small details. When Cain was upset about Abel’s offering being better than his own, God noticed his facial expression change (Gen. 4:6). When Elijah needed food, God sent ravens to deliver meals twice a day (1 Kings 17:6). He numbers the very hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7), collects each of our tears (Ps. 56:8), and “delights in every detail of [our] lives” (Ps. 37:23, NLT). He even notices every sparrow (something which had very little value in Israelite culture) and cares for us infinitely more (Matt. 10:29-31). Time and time again, God has cared for the small details in our lives, but do we allow Him to show us that He cares about every little thing?  

It can be easy to fall into thinking that God is so big, with so much going on, that He couldn’t possibly notice the little things in each of our lives. While it’s true that He is almighty and all powerful, He also knows it all and cares for it all. Our God is in charge of the heavens and the earth but also cared about a small girl who lost her teddy bear. 

My challenge to you is this: consciously look for God caring for the details in your life, and don’t hold back in asking Him to help you with the specifics. Next time you go to the mall and it’s looking busy, ask Him to give you a place to park. When traveling home from work and feeling extra tired, ask Him for an easier drive. If your child loses their favorite toy, kneel with them and teach them to pray for the small things. You never know what impact this may have on their faith journey, or even your own. 

The original version of this commentary was posted on Adventist Record.