sometimes the small things are the big things.

Still thinking about how fortunate I am at the moment in how God is planning my weekend away. It's not the first time He has done this for me either. I am more appreciative than I could express. God truly has done wondrous things and been super generous in my life, from air-tickets to many other types of provision and blessing. But sometimes its the small thing, the tiny details that reveal the greatness of who He is. Those small things that cause a big shift in your heart and stay with you forever.

I remember one such incident. I was 18, and putting myself through bible college. Money was beyond super tight. I was at college in the day, waitressing at night and coaching sport in the afternoon when I could.  I had recently cut off all my hair....from long and curly blonde i had gone short pixie cut.

I remember walking through a shopping mall one day, I was just browsing around, because I didnt have the money to spend. I was in a particular shop and was browsing through a big basket of hair clips. there was a large assortment of cute plastic clips that would have looked great in short hair. in particular there were two flower shaped, clips, one pink and one green. they were almost translucent and had a slight sparkle. [remember I was much younger and was overcoming my Goth days]. I remember picking them up and simply saying to God, "These are pretty" and putting them down again as I carried on browsing. I often did that, walked passed a pretty flower and would say to God, "that flower is pretty" etc.

My heart thought those clips were cute and I would have loved them. But i never prayed to have them, not even in my mind. It was a Friday, i left the mall and got ready to go to youth group. I was all the way on the other side of town. 90% of the youth lived on that side of town. I remember walking into Youth group and a girl came running to me. She said she had been in my neighborhood and was in my shopping mall. She walked passed a shop, something caught her eye and made her think of me. She then opened her hand and was holding the exact two clips I had seen earlier. She had a big smile on her face as she told me that God had prompted her to buy them for me.

It blew my mind then, and still does now. That God had done this even without me asking. It made me realize that His eye is always on me. There is a scripture I have read often, about God's eye being on us, but it actually means His loving eye, or looking on us in love. Moments like this, about small little plastic hairclips revealed His heart of love and made me understand my worth to Him a bit better.

Psalm 32:8  [ESV]

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

but now read it in the NIV [emphasis mine]

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.