I was getting ready this morning, worship music playing in the background, when a song about how good God is came on — and instead of it just passing through, it stopped me. I found myself still humming it hours later, genuinely in agreement with every word.
It got me thinking about all the ways God has taken care of my family and me. I won’t pretend it’s all been easy — there’s been mourning, loss, financial strain, seasons that felt like they’d never end. But looking back, He has always taken care of us. Sometimes it was unmistakably the Holy Spirit prompting me in a moment I needed it. Sometimes it was a neighbor showing up right when we needed them, having no idea what their small act of kindness was actually doing. Sometimes it was an opportunity appearing at exactly the moment that changed everything.
But it’s not just the big rescues. It’s the roof over our heads. A full fridge. Central air on a hot day. A car that’s never once let me down when I needed it. It’s watching my girls thrive — one finding her footing in a new job, the other discovering the “job well done” feeling for the first time through something as simple as nightly homework. It’s the freedom to worship openly, without fear, in a way so many believers around the world don’t have. It’s even the small, almost silly things — a coffee maker that makes my mornings feel a little luxurious, a bed that feels like it cost far more than it did.
Jesus talked about this exact kind of provision. He told His disciples not to worry, pointing them to the birds — how God feeds them without them ever having to plant, harvest, or store anything away (Matthew 6:26). And in another moment, He went even further: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29-30, ESV).
If God notices a sparrow hitting the ground — if He’s counting the hairs on your head — how much more does He care for you, His child, in the middle of whatever you’re walking through right now?
That’s the thing about the little ways He provides. They’re not separate from the big moments of rescue — they’re proof of the same character, showing up in the ordinary, so that when the hard seasons come, you already have a hundred small reminders stacked up that He hasn’t changed. God is SO good!
If you’re reading this and feeling that same fullness I felt this morning, take a few minutes and write out an actual list. Not a mental one — an actual list: the big rescues, yes, but also the coffee maker, the reliable car, the kids thriving in ways you didn’t expect. Then take that list to Him — not just a quiet “thank you” in passing, but real, deliberate gratitude, naming what He’s done, out loud or on paper.
But this isn’t just an exercise for the mornings when gratitude is already flowing. I’ll be honest — not long ago, I was in a season of feeling frustrated with where I am in life, wrestling with wanting more than what I currently had. And in that frustration, I made myself do the same thing: sit down and write out everything good I already had. By the time I finished, the frustration was gone, replaced with a fullness of joy and gratitude I hadn’t expected.
So if you’re overflowing with gratitude today, write the list. And if you’re in the middle of a frustrating, discouraging season, write it even more. Gratitude that stays in your head fades fast. Gratitude you write down and pray out loud has a way of staying with you long after the moment that sparked it is gone.
