When George and I were first married, he started turning down the bedcovers on my side.  After a few years of doing this, he asked me if I noticed.  I told him, “Oh, George!  Don’t ever stop doing that.  Every time I see those covers turned down, I think ‘He still loves me!'”  It’s 20 years later, and George still turns down my bedcovers every night.  So, I started thanking him for taking out the trash.  And, he thanks me for doing the wash.  I thank him for emptying the dishwasher, and he thanks me for changing the sheets on the bed.  Every night, I put the bath mat out in front of the shower for him.  Every day is filled with little things we do for each other.

Then there is the other side, little things that annoy us enough to become big things.  After we were married, I went by the bathroom, and the toilet seat was up.  My reaction?  I laughed and thought, “Wow!  There’s a man in the house.”  So he leaves the seat up and I leave the seat down.  No biggie.  Much bigger, however, was if the toilet paper rolls off from the bottom or the top of the roll.  I like it from the bottom.  George likes it from the top.  We solved that problem by not putting the toilet paper on the roller.  It sits on top, and we can each do what we want with it.  George always put his dirty clothes in the hamper, but he leaves them inside out.  So I wash them and fold them inside out.  Turns out, he likes to wear them inside out.  Underwear, anyway.  So I tried it, and guess what?  It’s more comfortable inside out.  The fabric next to your skin is softer.

God notices little things, too.  He said that even if you give someone a glass of water in His name, He notices.   Kindness is shown in small doses.  Kindness is felt in small doses.  We don’t need large gestures, although they have their place.  But the everyday, constant, steady stream of small kindnesses build a base for love and trust to flourish.