After dropping my backpack at my favorite table at Peet’s Coffee, I stood in line to order my favorite coffee drink— 

1/2 caff hazelnut latte,
w/ oatmilk,
extra hot,
add whipped cream!

Whew… so yummy!

I’d been looking forward to having a couple hours to work on some writing projects, along with adding a few updates to my Tracking God journal. 

Because of the whirlwind of activities over the last few weeks, I’d fallen behind in updating my journal with all that God was doing in my life. And, friend, God WAS working in specific and very special ways, and I knew I was missing the moments to track the pieces of the miracle slowly unfolding.

Using my favorite purple gel pen, I wrote the title “Pieces of a Miracle” midway down the tracking page for my youngest daughter.

This feels so good! 

And then, when I went to write down bullet point #1, my mind went completely blank.

What??!
What in the world?!

I had just shared with a good friend ALL the little things God was doing that seemed to be adding up to a miracle in my daughter’s life. I’d been so excited, my words just tumbled out and I hardly stopped to take a breath. We had both teared up, bounced up and down about it, and committed to keep agreeing in prayer.

And now, here I sat— NOTHING. I couldn’t remember even one of at least ten significant happenings I wanted to record. 

 Tell me I’m not alone in this?

And not just the whole, “I have a mental list of 10 things but when I go to write them down, I can’t remember any of them.”

This is about that … and so much more.

What obstacles get in the way of you recognizing AND REMEMBERING that God IS working? That the prayer you’ve prayed for so long is not ignored— it’s just unfolding in His way and His timing?

What keeps you from recognizing AND REMEMBERING the Presence of God in your life?

Because the truth is: His Presence IS with us each and every step of the way.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NASB) beautifully reminds us that God is faithfully with us anew each morning:

The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end,
For His compassions do not fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

And we have the amazing promise in Romans 8:28 that He’s working all things together for good.

We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.
(CEV)

And …

Tracking God is a super-practical way to stay mindful of God’s on-going work by jotting down quick notes. It’s my number one way for recognizing AND REMEMBERING how God is with me, even while praying for difficult things. 

It’s tracking the pieces of a miracle.

What I write down in my journal might seem insignificant to someone else. But I KNOW that I’m recording a small yet significant personal victory.

Imagine choosing one piece of a large puzzle and trying to figure out the whole picture by looking at the one piece.

Pretty much impossible.

BUT, as you get more pieces and they begin to fit together, the picture starts to take shape.

Which brings me back to my frustration over not being able to remember even a single thing to write down in my journal.

Here’s what I did to get unstuck AND REMEMBER—- 

Sipping my yummy coffee, I prayed a simple prayer:

“Lord, thank you for what you’re doing in Olivia’s life.
Help me remember the seemingly small pieces of this miracle.
To You be ALL the glory and praise.”

And then me and my purple gel pen waited.
And waited.

And …

Over the course of the next week, I kept my journal close by and all the things eventually came back to me. 

Not all at once, but piece by piece. 

As each piece came to mind — by God’s grace — I paused to contemplate it, expressing gratitude for every individual response to my prayers.

Recording them in my journal was almost overwhelming in the best of ways. There on the page in black and white (well… PURPLE and white) was a list of ALL that God was doing.

I had tracked the pieces of my miracle.

If that doesn’t spell HOPE, I don’t know what does.

This week, make some intentional time to sip something yummy and reflect on what God is doing in your life. Thank Him for His faithfulness in the many pieces of the miracle you’re praying for— maybe even grab your favorite gel pen and jot down a few notes.

Although my memory is not so great these days, GREAT is HIS faithfulness. And I’ve got my Tracking God journal to prove it!