All the Small Things

drinking the recommended 68 oz. of water a day; choosing wheat over white; turning off the water while you brush your teeth; going for a walk; using one paper towel instead of 2 or 3; recycling; pray on your way from one class to another; smile; hold doors; say thank you; say bless you; go to bed before midnight; floss; grab fruit instead of icecream; s-t-r-e-t-c-h....

there is a lot of credit to the small things. We hear about it often, how "love is in the details" and how the "little things" are what matter most, and while those are wholly true, it's kind of warm picture of all the little things that are done unto us, that we appreciate, and that's not what I'm quite driving at. I am saying, that there is a lot of credit to the small, conscious choices that we make. Living a healthier life style often starts not with joining a gym or buying lots of special food and work out equipment, but with a few small choices that you otherwise wouldn't make. Often, that's all it takes. And while the attempts may be meager, there are plenty of choices we can make to do our part and help out the environment a little. Changing someone's day can be the matter of a smile or picking up their pencil when it falls--no skin off your back, barely a second of your time, yet, it might just restore someone's faith in humanity. All of the many small things can sometimes just make the world, and life, a little bit better.

I truly believe, God appreciates detail, He does not ignore the small things. An honest and heartful "Lord, help me" is often times better than clouding a prayer with all the right words and format. Cutting of the TV or signing off the internet 15 minutes early to open the Word, God notices things like that. Neither will cause any damage to your life functioning (i promise) and it might even just make things a little better.

you might be asking though, why such credit for the small things, why do they deserve such acknowledgement? well the reason is, the small things are the first things to get shrugged off or ignored when we just don't feel like it or if we're feeling particularly mad at the world. Because the little things often go unnoticed and because the little things require discipline, self discipline in a way that, because they are small, we must constantly make the choice to do them. the big things we don't ignore, because they are there, they are in our face. we often make huge plans that we invest so much time, money, and effort into that, well, to ignore them would just be kind of stupid. it's there, it's prominent, you might as well pay attention to it. the small things though, the details, they are often overlooked and taken for granted.

the credit really comes in though, with the fruit these small things bear, sometimes in a way only you will know, or sometimes in a way you will never know, the small things are things, like small children, that just sort of wiggle right up to your heart, the small things are returned with small things, those quiet moments when God makes a cloud formation just for you, or lets you witness something funny, just because He wants to make your day better. The little niche in your heart, the one reserved especially for small things, it's God, letting you know that you're not going unnoticed (after all, we're all pretty small) and that He loves you.

the discipline of the small things though, the every day decision, the conscious effort, ahh, tis a great discipline to learn kids...there is not much that we can do that really merits much, the small things are about all we can do, but, like good ol' Mother Teresa said:

"we can do no great things; only small things with great love."