pen-dropping providence: seeing God in the small things

It was one of those times when I was so tempted just to leave the shopping cart out in the parking lot to be blown by the wind into someone else's car. And I just might have ... except that the toddler was crying, "Boo pen, boo pen." 

I had given him a blue pen to draw on the Hepatitis A Vaccine Info Sheet we'd gotten at the doctor's office the other day, that vaccine that he accepted without even crying ... and then gave the nurse a hug. And he had just entertained himself quite nicely writing his name or some chicken scratch that he claimed was his name while I finished shopping and checked out. 

So I unloaded the cart, locked the van, and went back to return the cart and retrieve the "boo pen." 

Just as I got to the entrance of the store and picked up the blue pen, I turned around to see a dear grieving sister in Christ who has just recently lost her brother through a traumatic turn of events. She and her mom were headed in to find a suitable black dress for the funeral this weekend. I hadn't seen her in ages. I'd heard of her family's heartache though, and I've been praying. But that greeting, those hugs--they were providential. 

I turned to pick the toddler up out of the cart, and looked in his glad-to-have-his-pen-back eyes, and said, "You know, buddy, sometimes when you drop your pen, it's because of God."

So often, we think of little things as just that, little things. Or worse, we see a dropped pen as an inconvenience or even an evil. We do well to remind ourselves that even those little things are part of God's plan. 

And we do well to keep our eyes open throughout our day, to see which sister needs a hug, which toddler needs his nose wiped, which middle schooler needs math explained, which unbeliever needs the love of Jesus .... 

We do well to give credit where credit is due. God is not just the God of the big things. He's big enough to be God of the small things too. 

What small thing have you seen God providentially work through recently?

Grace and peace, 
with love, 

michelle

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