I recently had a good conversation at Kairos regarding the ways that God was manifesting Himself in our lives. What gifts has He given us that we’re simply overlooking?

When I was still in college, there was this dip in the ground towards the outskirts of campus. Anytime it rained or snowed or did anything meteorologically, a pool of water would collect between the trees like an impromptu sort of lake. Only then would the ducks come.

You guys have to understand something first. I have this “thing” about ducks. A motif in my life, if you will. We had a neighbor when I was really young that used to call my sisters and I my mom’s little ducklings- we followed her everywhere. And ever since then, ducks always seem to show up in my life- at my grandparent’s house when I was young, on someone’s lawn on my way to work, at the park down the street.

There’s one time that I remember specifically. During my last semester in college, I always saw these ducks each time I drove by on my way to class. It came to the point that I would look forward to seeing them in the evening, comforted by the consistency in that routine.

I know it sounds silly, but God used those ducks to make me smile, to reassure me of the fact that sometimes the conditions in my life and my heart have to be “just right” before the beauty God intends for me can fully unfold. At a time in my life when things were uncertain, He showed me that He was unchangeable.

So I ask you- how conscious are you of God’s presence in your life? How does God manifest Himself to you, and what does He long to show you?