Throughout my life, God has made Himself known to me in a thousand little ways. And a few big ones, too. But it’s these little ones that mean so much to me because they remind me that God is always with me, and He cares about me, down to the minutiae of daily life.

When I contemplate talking about God, the large stories of His provision come to mind. I have written about some of these before in this forum. But today I’d like to mention one of the most recent “little” ways that God has revealed His love for me.

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭14,‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Often, the little ways of God feel personal, like an inside joke or a nickname that no one else knows. To someone else they can sound insignificant or even coincidental. Ascribing them to God may sound silly. And yet, down in my heart, I know it is God’s little way of reminding me who He is and that He knows me and loves me.

I recently took a trip to a place that had a rainy forecast, so I planned to pack a raincoat. Where I live now, it doesn’t rain much so I don’t use a rain coat often. I had forgotten that my coat was in a minor state of neglect and disrepair. As I was packing, I realized the zipper pull was missing. The zipper functioned but only with great difficulty. Since I had no time to get a new raincoat, I grabbed a paperclip and slotted that in the zipper to work as my zipper pull. Problem solved, right?

My husband looked at my make-shift zipper pull and grimaced. Can’t we do better than that? We looked around for a spare zipper pull, but it’s not something one generally stocks spares of. I did find one made of a cord, but it was too thick for the zipper’s loop. Oh well. The paperclip would have to do.

I wore my rain coat during my trip and managed with the paperclip, but felt a bit shabby.

One particularly wet and chilly morning, my husband and I walked into a coffee shop. While standing in line to order, I looked down and saw a shiny metal object by my feet. I picked it up and saw that it was a zipper pull. Just sitting there. In fact, it was almost indistinguishable from the other zipper pulls on my jacket’s pockets.

I unthreaded the dreaded paperclip and snapped in the found zipper pull. It fit perfectly. I marveled. I laughed.

And then I thanked God. I could feel His warm, satisfied smile. We shared the joke. An inside joke.

Not having a zipper pull on my jacket was no emergency. It wasn’t anything I had prayed about. But I know God providing that zipper pull for me right then was His way of reminding me He was there with me and that He loved me no matter what was going on. It was a challenging trip in many ways, and I was so comforted at this small, personal reminder of His loving presence.

I share this story knowing most people will say it is just a coincidence. But if you know God and spend any time with Him, you will have stories like this too. God loves stuff like this because He loves intimate relationships with His children. Are you seeking God? He will reveal Himself in all sorts of wonderful ways if your heart is open.

Dear God, I treasure the thousands of ways you have made yourself know to me over the years. I am so grateful that you care about me, pay attention to my daily struggles, and love to share your love with me in practical and fanciful ways. What a beautiful God you are!