As I reflect on the Spirit’s leading, I first think of some of the larger movements in my life. My marriage to my sweetheart when we were both just twenty-one and both still in university. My conviction to keep submitting my first book proposal in spite of rejection after rejection. The unexpected call to pastoral ministry that took me from not even thinking about being employed by the church to becoming curious and then excited about the new possibilities for service and learning. My resignation years later from my position as a full-time pastor to focus on my writing beyond the local congregation. I journalled, I prayed, I consulted with others, I sensed the leading of the Holy Spirit.

At other times, I’ve sensed the leading of the Spirit in smaller, more specific ways. Like suddenly feeling moved to pray for a friend in another part of the world. Or being prompted to call someone only to discover they were wanting to talk through a difficult situation. Or wrestling with a given scripture text that suddenly takes on new meaning for me. In these small and unexpected ways, there too I sense the Spirit’s leading.

But what of those things I’ve started to call my dailies? My personal dailies of walking, stretching, and strength workouts, of eating and drinking and brushing my teeth. My household dailies of making meals and loading the dishwasher. My work dailies of email and social media and whatever my current writing or speaking or editing project might be. Is the leading of God’s Spirit for such daily joys and concerns too?

In the Common English Bible, Galatians 5:16-23 contrasts living “by the Spirit” with living according to “your selfish desires.” The text goes on to say:

The actions that are produced by selfish motives are obvious, since they include sexual immorality, moral corruption, doing whatever feels good, idolatry, drug use and casting spells, hate, fighting, obsession, losing your temper, competitive opposition, conflict, selfishness, group rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, partying, and other things like that.

In contrast, living by the Spirit yields “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Such qualities are for the larger movements in our lives, like the faithfulness through many years of marriage and the patient tending of congregational relationships. They’re part of those specific times of kindness extended at the prompting of the Spirit. And they’re also for the daily things of life.

One morning I saw a tweet from Doug Bursch who had been off Twitter/X since well before Christmas. He posted:

Telling people that I’m writing a book, gives me like a couple years to be left alone. If I say it is a long book, I might get three or four.

We’d exchanged tweets before, Doug had been a guest on my When You Work for the Church website, and I had endorsed his book, Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It. I was glad to see him back online, so I tweeted a response:

Welcome back – I hope your year is off to a good start! I always get what’s your book about & give a vague answer because for me talking about it takes away from the writing.

I was surprised to get a reply:

April…you have been such a great encourager to me. I don’t really think I’ve earned such kindness from you. Regardless, it is appreciated. If there is ever a practical way I can return the kindness, don’t hesitate to ask.

Wow! I hadn’t felt a nudge from the Spirit to be particularly kind or encouraging. I had made a rather ordinary social media comment, yet it was received as kindness. I couldn’t help but think of that kindness as part of the fruit of the Spirit. Not earned. Not even something I had deliberately intended or worked at. But gift of God’s grace in the course of daily life.

In the gospel of John, Jesus says, “God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going” (John 3:8). God’s Spirit shows up—in the big moments of life and in the smaller ones, in unexpected spaces and even on social media.

Your daily life may be quite different from mine. Maybe you’re parenting young children. Or caring for elders. Or shepherding a local congregation. Or going to school. Or juggling some combination of all these things and more. May the Spirit surprise you in the midst of life and gift you with good fruit.

A version of this article first appeared on Asian American Women on Leadership as part of a series on “The Spirt-Led Life.”

Writing/Reflection Prompt: How have you been surprised by the Spirit in unexpected spaces?