We worked all day. Hard. Reclaiming cement-like, rocky ground into garden space, spreading a truckload of mulch, moving landscape rocks, and finally planting flowers.

On one of my trips with the wheelbarrow to bring landscape rocks to the site where they were needed, I picked one up from its long-time location on the ground behind the shed. I always do this carefully, heeding my Girl Scout leader’s advice, and pulling it toward me so that any critters underneath will skitter or slither away from me. It proved to be wise, as spiders and a small garden snake did just that. But, after they’d left, I marveled at what all was happening under that one rock. There was an ant colony with endless tiny trails and eggs stocked up, and doodle bugs came out by the dozens. Under one rock, in one tiny location out of 30 acres, there was a whole little ecosystem thriving.

I started thinking about all this, as I was planting. There is always more going on than you think. God is always working, even in the deepest and seemingly most inconsequential places. We see things out front and in the open, but we tend to think He’s not at work if we can’t see it. However, when things don’t seem to be happening the way we’re hoping and praying that they will, God is not idle. As much as He is resplendent out in plain sight, He is magnificent at working behind the scenes to weave together His plan for our lives.

As if to punctuate my thought, a tiny movement caught my eye in the hedge of cactus next to the flower bed where I was working. In full bloom, the yellow bowl-shaped flowers have been beautiful to see across the yard, or from the window. But as I was right there, I could see, hidden way down deep in the bowl, little beetles that I’d never seen before. They were busy down there, looking like they were filling up on pollen. Food in the bottom of a flower for a bug I’d never seen. If He’s taking care of the needs of that beetle, I think He’ll handle whatever I’ve got going on…even if I can’t see it at all.

Especially then.

Yes, there is always more going on than you think.

With God, there’s always more.

“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” Hebrews 11:1 TLB

“Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” Matthew 6:26 NLT