“God will provide,” my mom would always say.  

Words uttered from a tear drenched face, with tired eyes, and a clenched jaw.  

Did she believe it?  Was she praying? Or was she hoping, wishing, or maybe even begging?  

What did she really expect from this life, a genie by the name of God coming to save her from stress and turmoil? Did she think she could just wait to be saved from the torrents of reality? What is the point of this blind faith?

I didn’t get it.  Maybe I still don’t, but as the years stack upon each other in my journey, I think it is all starting to make a little more sense.

Let me start with a simple example. As a teacher, every week I sit down with students to process and reflect on their behaviors or grades. I pull up the gradebook or behavioral referrals for them to see. And without missing a beat, inevitably the child looks at his or her grades or referrals with bewilderment.

Once they settle on their current reality, they usually follow up with a list of reasons why their success is not as they wish. “The teacher doesn’t like me. The assignments are stupid. I don’t have time for homework. It was my friend’s fault.”

My mind fills with frustration. Did they expect good grades to fall from the sky and to act out on impulse without accountability? So I follow up with the usual retorts. “Did you ask for help? Did you pay attention in class? Did you do the practice at home? Did you heed the teacher’s warning she gave you when you first started misbehaving?” In other words—WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HELP YOURSELF?

This question sits at the heart of my ability to grapple with the concept of faith. We all must help ourselves; we cannot rely on a heavenly entity to just provide us with what we think we deserve.

Then I sat with these thoughts. I felt them in my bones and prayed on them, and my answer came in the midst of my frustration with a student. “Little things matter!” I preached. “You do your part and focus on doing the little things right, and child, I will do mine to teach, guide, and praise your achievements.”

You do your part, and child, I will do mine.

Yes, that is what my mother understood. She didn’t expect answers to her prayers to fall from the sky. She trusted that if she did the little things, even if they were unnoticed by many, life would deliver her the bounty she harvested.

She turned her eyes to God and humbled herself in times of need. She served her neighbors. She sacrificed her time and well-being for others. She gave when she had nothing because she trusted that acts of selflessness were always worth something to someone. Blessings come from the work you put into the little moments.

To her, faith wasn’t about believing; it was about TRUST. I trust in you, God, and you can trust in me. When no one notices, when no one asks, I will serve. This relationship is what built the security she leaned on throughout life and is gradually becoming the shelter I find myself seeking in times of need.

Maybe this all sounds like fairy tales and crazy talk. Maybe I’m doing what most women say they’ll never do – turning into their mother. But every day, if I pay attention, I get another glimpse of how small acts of love, dedication, and service build a life where fulfillment and joy can be found all around you.

I guess maybe it is simpler than I thought. Prayers do not come with big answers, and belief does not come with worldly guarantees. If I had to picture my maker responding to my wants and needs, I can hear Him trustingly saying, as I tell those students under my care, “You do your part, and child, I will do mine.”