Spurgeon says that "It is a very great folly to despise 'the day of small things,' for it is usually God's way to begin His great works with small things.
Life's greatest, most lasting joys often reside in the smallest of moments. We tend to dream about and applaud the big moments. The last minute winning touchdown or basket or goal. The huge accomplishment that earns the scholarship or garners the prize. The dramatic rescue that saves the day.
Our culture celebrates the giant, splashy moments...but our souls savor the small, quiet, even routine moments. An exhausted mama who continues to love and serve. An athlete who rises in the predawn darkness to run the lonely miles or practice the shot in the driveway...again and again. A worker who faithfully does his or her job to the best of their ability...even when no one is watching. A family relentlessly loving. A friend continually giving. A parent forgiving and refusing to give up.
Luke put it this way: "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." (Lk16:10) Little moments matter. Obedience in little, hidden things matters. Gratitude even for life's "smallest" of blessings matter (and are there really any "small" blessings? They're all a gift...all by grace).
God often starts with the small. And He surely and consistently loves and uses the small and seemingly insignificant.
Shauna Niequist writes: "The big moment, unfortunately, is an urban myth. Some people have them when, say, they win the Heisman. But even that football player is living a life of more than one moment. Life is a collection of a million tiny little moments and choices, like a handful of luminous pearls. Strung together, lined up through the days and the years, they make a life. It takes so much time, and so much work, and those beads and moments are so small, and so much less fabulous and dramatic than the movies. The Heisman Trophy winner knows this. He knows that his big moment was not when they gave him the trophy. It was the thousand times he went to practice instead of going back to bed. It was the miles run on the rainy days, the healthy meals when a burger sounded like heaven. That big moment represented and rested on a foundation of moments that had come before it."
I share all this, because it was a bittersweet ending for our Broughton golf team at the States. They came in second--which is nothing to sneeze about, I must say. But our boys were mighty disappointed. Especially for the seniors--who are all dear friends and have loved these past four years of playing together on such a special team. Their sadness at coming up short was evident on their faces (but we parents appreciated them trying to smile for pictures!)--
And yes, it would have been one of those "big" storybook moments to win the States again and cap off a special four years with a dramatic come-from-behind win. But you know, life simply isn't all about those big moments. It's about all the small, seemingly insignificant moments along the way. Because it's in those small moments that God builds character. It's in those small moments that He teaches us about gratitude. And it's in those small moments that God grows qualities in us like patience, perseverance, trustworthiness, kindness, compassion, and humility.
Not in the big...but in the small. Not in the sensational...but in the simple. Not in the applause of the crowd...but in the appreciation for the team. Not in the win...but in the worthiness of the effort.
So no, they didn't win the States. But oh the joy of friendships. Of being part of a team. Of putting forth daily, consistent, hard effort. Of giving it your best shot...but then trusting that God's plans and ways are always best.
And then there's the priceless gift of being a parent and watching all those small, beautiful, daily moments unfold. That string of pearls--those moments, those days, one at a time...until suddenly those days have become years and your little, scruffy, sweet boy has become a young man ready to graduate and head out into the big, wide world.
But no matter where they go or what they do, how I pray they will remember that Almighty God is with them for every one of their moments, big and small...and He is always moving and working.
Today, we're grateful for the many small moments of these special seniors...and trusting that God is using every one of those moments to build them into mighty oaks of righteousness. One small, hard, joyous, challenging, satisfying moment at a time.
Thank You, Father, for the big and the small...we praise You that You are the Lord of them all. And I wonder if maybe, just maybe, one fine day we might discover that those moments we thought were so small, were actually in Your economy, the biggest and greatest of them all. Keep us grateful, Father. And help us live every moment--every single moment You choose to give us--to Your glory.
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