I am headed
to the barn in a few minutes to do some final Dexter grooming for nationals.
Just some small clipping “touch-ups,” but sometimes small things can make a big
difference in the show ring.
Small
things.
It seems I am always doing small things.
Feeding
livestock.
Grooming
show cows.
Cleaning
udders and milking the girls.
Halter training
weaned calves.
Mucking
stalls and sweeping the barn aisle.
Weeding the
garden and checking the health of the apple orchard.
Small things
. . .
things that are only significant in the bigger
picture . . .
things that
are completely unspectacular in themselves.
And in reality . . . here at Kirkhaven . . . even “the bigger picture” isn’t bigger than a
small East Tennessee heritage farm.
My husband
said something yesterday that has kept my mind and heart busy as my hands have
worked through these early summer days. Actually . . . my heart and mind are on
pause. I feel like I need to stop the whole show for a bit . . . ruminate on
this idea for a while until I begin to find a measure of Truth in it:
“Hey Dear .
. . I know why God says that faithfulness in the small things is important. It’s
because HE is faithful in the small things.”
Okay. I have
heard the idea of “faithfulness in small things” preached from the pulpit many
times. The gist of the sermons typically is that if you are faithful in the
small things then God will reward you with big things. But now I am wondering .
. . so if you are faithful being a janitor at a corporation, does that mean God
will let you become the CEO? Is it really a reliable formula . . .
faithfulness
in small things + faithfulness in more small things = a reward of big things??
So did God
practice faithfulness in creating and stewarding tiny atoms so that He would be
worthy to create the grand expansive universe? Or did He create tiny raindrops
so that He could eventually wow heaven and earth with a Niagara Falls grand
finale?
Or what if .
. . just maybe . . . small things are the point?
What if we
were NOT created to endure small things until we finally earned big things?
What if the
WHOLE JOURNEY is the point?
Every tiny
moment.
Every boring
chore.
Every little
detail of every normal routine.
Even the
unexpected surprises.
Both
successes and failures.
And even the
grand adventures.
What if the
whole and the summation of our entire lives is really just the gestalt of all
the daily small things?
What if a
truly good life simply means joy and faithfulness and gratitude . . .
IN the small things,
WITH the small
things,
BECAUSE OF
the small things.
Whether you
are a CEO or a janitor.
Whether you change diapers all day or trade stocks.
AND what if
the small things ARE the reward?
Know
therefore that the Lord your God,
He is God,
the faithful God . . .
Deuteronomy 7:9
He is
faithful in every small thing.
I truly don’t
want to miss out on the great riches of life because I squandered the treasure
of small things . . .
