i had a thought

today as i was attempting, ultimately unsuccessfully, to get a nap, i had a thought. dean had just finished watching piglet's big movie and the music was still running through my head. i thought how perfect carly simon's voice fits as piglet's singing voice, and i wondered if the idea to ask her to do the music for the movie came in a flash of inspiration to someone in charge of the music, and whether they acknowledged it as an answer to prayer at all. and then i thought, does it really matter?
and the answer i came up with surprised me. it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things how well the music turned out for a movie that went straight to video. but maybe that was an inspiration to that person at a time of personal stress. maybe that person has great satisfaction about this project they worked on. and maybe the reason God answers little prayers about things that don't matter is that that's how we, the little people, gain the faith necessary to depend on Him in everything. if He answers a prayer about what CD i should put in to listen to right now, He would answer a prayer about whom i should marry. if He answers a prayer about which park i should go to with the kids today, He would answer a prayer about where we should live.
i think the fact that He answers even the insignificant prayers we utter without much formality is also a way for us to gather evidence of how much He loves us. He loves us enough to help us figure out how much soup to make for dinner so that we have enough for an unexpected visitor, or to inspire people to call us when we're feeling down, or to inspire us to extend an invitation to someone who might need our company.
so that was my deep thought this afternoon as i tried to work past the irritation of not being allowed to get a nap to make up for the lack of sleep the night before. but how many opportunities did i have to serve my little children today? i'll just try and think of it that way and stop holding my two-year-old accountable for my cranky mood. am i a grown-up yet?