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.”
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.
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.
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
I forgot about your blueberries:) That is amazing the way God works. I like your idea of looking at the past year and review each month!
I didn’t know you knew the blueberry story. It is one of my favorites. 🙂
This blueberry story reminds me of Jesus telling Peter to go catch a fish and look in its mouth for the money to pay the temple tax. I love stories that show that God was working to supply the need long before we were even aware of it.
God has done so many kind things for me, it’s hard to narrow it down. But I guess the kindness I am most thankful for lately is my job. Every day I wake up thanking God for my job. I think God created me for this and I am so grateful that he allows me to have this job that I love so much.
Sally,
I love that through God providing you a job, He’s also providing for all of us as your clients. So, that makes me also very thankful for your job. 🙂
I have recently had a bit of a medical scare but through all my dr visits and tests, I have received the best case scenario. I have to now take medication for my condition but God has taken such good care of me and my family. I’m also so thankful for my family and my church family. I am guilty of taking things for granted on occasion and I want to always keep God first on my mind.
Melissa, I’m ashamed so say that sometimes I pray for something that seems so big that I don’t really expect it to be answered the way I want. It just seems like it would be too good to be true. (Sheesh, my faith is so tiny!) But I am often blown away when God goes above and beyond even what I ask, despite my puny faith. So glad to hear your good news. He is good!
This year we were blessed so much but I am most greatful for the ability to start staying home with my girls. And most specifically the financial provisions that he has given. We were really worried that with me not working that our finances would fall apart but God knows what we need and has provided in little ways that are so huge for us!
Jessica,
We have also often seen God provide financially when it seems like it surely just won’t work. But He has proved himself time and time again! Thanks for sharing!
I recently had a phone issue at work that took up about 5hrs of my time over the last week. I called, googled, researched and couldn’t find the answer. I finally found the something that looked like my problem on a business website. But it didn’t work. Something was wrong with our system. I called the business and told them my issue. I was hoping he could point me in the right direction. Boy did he go the extra mile. The guy that I was speaking with was some kind of phone wizard from Florida and he spent 2hrs on the phone with me, using my computer to access our phone system(Scary that he could do that from Florida) and having me enter codes on our phone that were crazy complicated and when it was finally fixed I asked him to send me a bill and he said “No charge, this is for a church, No Worries” Wow. God is good.
How awesome!
haha…just saw you are Hannah’s spouse!
That’s a great story, Mr. Hall, but I’m afraid that spouses of the author are not eligible to win the book. You can look at my copy at home. 🙂
Getting an encouraging note from a friend and another friend calling me to meet, needing encouragement and to talk and pray together.
I love how God uses His children to encourage one another so that they may encourage others.
Absolutely, Sharie! I am convinced that encouragement is one of the greatest tools we have in our arsenal. There’s very little that beats a timely word from a loving friend. Thank you for sharing!
This may sound silly to some but we have had some rough nights around here the last few weeks. My oldest sick with strep, my youngest perpetually teething and my hubby sick with the flu… This momma has been tired. I prayed this weekend for uninterrupted sleep and that is just what I got! So very thankful for the little things 🙂
PS the blueberry story gets me EVERYTIME I hear it!
Oh my goodness, moms across the earth understand the kindness that is connected to a good night’s sleep. That is not silly at all. It shows just how little our prayers can be and still be answered. Love you, Ang!
December is such a fun month of family and sharing, it also makes money even tighter–with all the little gifts and things you want to be able to buy for your children and family. Well, I got all of my bills together and began going through my bank history only to find that my electric bill was $0.00! I was expecting something much higher and was in shock, so I called the company. The previous month our electric bill was really high. I was surprised but assumed that with the cold weather we must have been using more electricity. By the sound of her voice I could tell that the poor lady on the phone was very nervous. She told me that in the previous month they had over charged me–by a lot. To her surprise, I was not angry at all; I was ecstatic! I had unknowingly paid my bill ahead and had an extra bundle of money. While Christmas isn’t all about the gifts, it was nice to be able to go pick up a few extra things we hadn’t been able to get before. It’s amazing how God works.
Wow! Excellent story, Sarah! Thank you for sharing it! I love, love how God works things so perfectly when we don’t even know yet to ask for it. He is so good!
Today, I am thankful for my new job. I am so glad that God has given me the opportunity to work with children here in Washington.
What an amazing story about the blueberries! I have something I must share how God is so kind … Our friends from Germany are coming to the states, they thought we had moved to Washington D.C since they were planning on going to New York wanted to meet us in March,Washington state is far from NY so didn’t know how it would work, found out yesterday that Tom has to give a talk in Washington D.C. The first week of March, God made away we will get to see our friends in March while they are in the states, we just got the e-mail from our friends last week, really had not prayed about it much, just knew it was impossible, yet God has made away.c
Andrea,
I am so excited to hear your story. He cares about us, doesn’t He? It just amazes me. Little ol’ me and you are important to Him. Incredible! Congrats on the new job and everything else!
God has done many things for me…but one that sticks out in my mind was a time I was going though some very heavy stress! This happened to be a holiday weekend as well. I kinda crumbled from my stress and cried out to the Lord and said “I just need to have my heart smile.” The very next time mail came…I went out into the mailbox to find a card from my best friend in Indiana. I opened the card and it read like this…on the outside it said: “Thinking of you” inside a heart, then when you opened it, it said “Makes me heart smile!” Coincidence? Nope, totally arranged by God on that one. My friend told me that her toddler at the time picked the card out for me. And then about a year later was again having another difficult trial and again cried out to the Lord and mentioned that card that my best friend had sent. A few days later, what appeared in my mailbox? That same card, but this time from a different friend. Those cards are precious examples of God’s love for me and also a lesson that when God puts someone on heart, to follow though with doing whatever was placed on my heart to do! Thank you again, Hannah for your encouragement though your blog!
I love this, Annette! Thank you for sharing. What a fantastic testimony to God’s kindness!
Thank you for letting me tell it, of course you could of told it better I am sure! My friends that send those cards did not even know I was having a hard time, so an obvious blessing from the Lord. And Hannah, I don’t need to be included in the book giveaway! I have one that I will cherish, signed by you! Thank you again!
Just yesterday we were on our way to the village we work in and our truck broke down… Wouldn’t start… Nothing. 🙁 I called the mechanic that lives by our house. He sent a guy to where we were to give us a jump start to take it back to his shop… He worked on it all day and when we went to pick it up… He only charge us $10! 🙂
We were also stressed by all the things we had planned to get done in El Rosario that day, but after a few phone calls, friends that live in El R pulled together and got almost everything done! It was awesome how God provided for us financially (super cheap fix) and opportunities for those in the village to serve their neighbor 🙂 and David and I got some much needed alone time. Nothing like a good old date day in a mechanic shop 🙂 lol. Truly everyday miracles 🙂 what an amazing God we serve 🙂
I think it’s amazing that God doesn’t always demand to be noticed. He is willing to work in the tiny details of our lives and allow us to completely miss what he’s up to. You could have missed it yesterday, but you didn’t! You got not only the blessing of his provision, but also the blessing of seeing just how much he loves you and cares about what you care about. Wonderful. 🙂 Thank you for posting, Lindsey!
Not sure if the giveaway is still open, Hannah, but I would love a copy of your book (and will get one even if I don’t win ;))..
As a foreigner (again) in a new place carting two under 2.5 around, there are daily reminders for me of God’s love.. yesterday – a fantastic doctor’s visit for me, 30 minutes long with a doc who listened for 20 of those minutes.. and it cost $25 – the joys of living in a highly socialist country, I suppose.. My sister and her hubby being here with us for the past three weeks and how much help they have been, the way they adore our boys and they way the boys adore them.. So many things to be thankful for!!
It’s absolutely still open, Devi! Thank you for posting. Your ability to find God even in the smallest things has always been an inspiration to me. You have a knack for it, my dear, where I often miss it. Thank you for posting. Enjoy your family!
In 2013 we walked away from our “home” the only place we ever lived together as a couple and family, the place we brought our babies home to. We quit our jobs and within 2 weeks God provided us 2 more at the same school. While the leaving was bitter, agonizing, and not OUR desire, God has turned it into something beautiful. We are now surrounded by family and I am now using the degree I worked so hard to obtain.
Every time I look back at the 2 week period I am amazed to see how God moved and to see the little tiny pieces he planted grow together.
It is pretty amazing, Erica, especially since it seemed like such an awful thing at the time. God knows what He’s doing, doesn’t He? I think of you guys often, every time I pass your house. I’m so glad to hear that things have worked out so well. 🙂