A few years ago- pre-children- I was eating breakfast by myself. (That was way back in the days when doing something alone was a normal, everyday thing. Oh my goodness, how I took that for granted!) 

I was gazing at my cereal box with its “enlarged to show detail” generic mini-wheats dolloped with tasty blueberries when I thought to myself, “It would be nice to have blueberries on my cereal.” 

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 And that was that.  My thoughts trailed off onto some other brilliant observation, I’m sure, and I thought nothing more about blueberries. 

Some story, huh?

Deep in my subconscious I was probably noting that the Hall budget didn’t have much room in it for such a luxury as blueberries.  Things were pretty tight, and blueberries didn’t make the grocery cut.

Now fast-forward approximately three hours.

 A friend from church who would occasionally randomly stop by for a chat, randomly stopped by for a chat.

In her hand she carried, you guessed it, a jumbo-sized bag of frozen blueberries.

 At the time I didn’t think much of it. Of course, I was thankful and laughed to myself at the “coincidence,” but it was much later before the incredibleness of the incident dawned on me.

 The thing was, I had barely formed a conscious thought about the blueberries. I’m certain that if she hadn’t brought them by later, that longing that day for blueberries would have been completely forgotten.  

 But God had taken note.  

 He had heard my heart quietly long for something as unimportant as fruit on my cereal. He had orchestrated in my friend’s mind the idea to pick up a bag for me while she was at the store.  He had them delivered to my house.  He didn’t even require me to pray and ask for them.

And I realized…

God is so kind.

 You can write the whole situation off as a happy coincidence,yes, which I would be prone to do myself if His kindness wasn’t so very consistent in my life. It often shows up in the smallest ways, but it’s always there if I’m looking for it. 

 Each New Year’s Day for the last few years I have made a habit of writing my “Year in Review” in my journal. I try to recall the previous year month by month—both the highs and the lows—and a few lessons I learned along the way.

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 Each year it amazes me to realize that if I hadn’t looked back and reminded myself about what happened during that year, much of it would be completely forgotten. The big things might stand out, but the little things would likely be lost forever.

It’s not so different with how I perceive God. 

 If I only make a point to notice the big things God does for me, I will miss all the little things He does in the meantime. 

 The blueberries will be forgotten. His little kindnesses lost. Everyday mercies shelved away in my memory with all the other endless details of life. And it would be a tragic loss.

Because it’s the little things He does daily that sustain my faith.

No, I did not witness huge miracles in 2013, but I did see, time-after-time, sweet little reminders that the God of the Universe cares about the itty bitty details of my universe. 

This year, I remembered a much-needed lawnmower that came just in time. The perfect (free) Homecoming dress for Edy, and answers to prayer requests that might sound so insignificant to you, you would wonder why I even bothered to pray them.

But God had heard.

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And I almost forgot. 

So that’s my New Year’s Resolution this year. 

 Each day, I will write one example of God’s kindness towards me that day.  I will not allow myself to forget that God is endlessly Good, infinitely Loving and (down to the smallest detail) unfailingly Kind. 

 Join with me, will you?

Why not start here?

 Leave a comment below about one kind thing God has done for you lately, and you’ll be entered into a giveaway for a copy of one of my books, God Bless You and Good Night. (Or if you’re too shy to share something personal like that, just mention why’d you like a book or who you’d give it to if you won. Or just anything, really.)

 If you get a friend to leave a comment and they win the drawing, you’ll both get a free book. Pretty good, eh? (Just make sure they give you credit in their comment.)  I’ll randomly pick a winner and announce it next Tuesday. 

In the meantime, take heart:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23