Small Things

Our days are full of small, seemingly insignificant moments. Who would guess that a simple smile could make a significant difference in another person’s life? Or that a word of encouragement, a bit of advice, or sharing a story could be important to them? And yet, these things can be the springboard for change or the spark of hope someone else has been waiting for. It’s the small things that are remembered for a lifetime.
 

For instance, the memories I treasure most about my Grandma are not things she planned and labored over—games of Bingo and Pig Rummy, trooping into the backyard with a milk carton of fruit and vegetable peelings “to feed the soil” of her flower beds. We scoured the carpet for balls of lint and walked around the block, stopping to admire the neighbor’s Wisteria draping the front porch of his stone house. In these moments, I felt important and loved.

My husband and I have been to some incredible places since we’ve been married, but the memories I cherish the most are the small moments. Dancing on our deck or in the living room at the end of a movie to a romantic song as the credits roll. I cherish our hikes in the lush green forests of the Northwest, pungent with evergreens, moss, and fern. Impromptu drives and conversations, tender touches from my lover, and comforting hugs at the end of a hard day. These small things make up the big love we share.

 The best moments of motherhood, friendship, becoming a stepmom and mother in law, and now a grandmother, are mostly small treasures I’ve tucked away. The first time my babies hugged me back, the look of trust in a child’s eyes, the first time one of my son in laws called me Mom, little notes of appreciation for no reason at all.

How many examples from your own life have flooded your mind since you started reading this? Our lives are rich with small things that we treasure over the years. Words of encouragement from a teacher or coach that changed the way you felt about yourself, maybe even the path you were on. A touch, a gift, a look that said, “You’re ok in my book.”

Would we ever despise those things? I don’t think so. We might forget them for a while, or tell ourselves they weren’t’ that big of a deal, but we would still appreciate that they happened. And smile when we think of them. Yet we often despise the small things God sends our way.

We count them as insignificant, express our disappointment to God that He’s not doing His job, or letting us do it for Him in a manner consistent with our expectations. I am especially guilty of this.

So when I read of Zechariah’s vision and the angel asks, “Who dares despise the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10, NIV) I feel pretty convicted. I’m certainly not going to raise my hand. I begin to see His point. God is always at work, but it’s not always spectacular and miraculous. Most often it’s small and accumulative.

 

 How dare I despise what God is doing—in my life, my work, our church and community, in the lives of the people I’m praying for. What I can see from my perspective may seem too small to count, but sometimes, the small things are the most important ones of all.

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