Award-winning Publishers Weekly Best-selling Author

Little Big Things

by | Aug 19, 2013 | | Still True Today | 6 comments

She inhaled the smells of the fresh morning air and relaxed in her rocking chair. The world was asleep along with the dogs in the neighborhood. The only sound to be heard was the chickadee wishing her a sweet day. Perfect.

A hummingbird fluttered by and took time to savor her flowers. She smiled as a thought went through her mind.

Why do we get too busy to notice the little things?

Taking a sip of her pumpkin coffee, she opened the Bible on her lap.

Time to let God speak. She was listening.

Would you say the following statement is true or false?

The little things in life make the biggest difference.

There are those who would probably say false and argue the bigger things are what matter most. There were times I might have agreed.

Not anymore.

Over the years I’ve gone through trials—heart-wrenching betrayal leading to divorce and the loss of my parents when they were still young. Those were tough times. More recently I’ve been through a lot of stress with work, deadlines, and suffering from migraines. But, do you know what I’ve discovered?

The little things in life are treasures from God. We need to stop and notice them.

If we don’t, we’ll be stuck running in circles like a hamster on an endless wheel. Never knowing when to quit.

Stopping and taking time to rest, energize, and notice things we wouldn’t normally is the best thing we can do for our sanity. That’s exactly what I did on my recent vacation.

What does the Bible say about this? Let’s take a look at a few passages.

Matthew 6:26 (NIV)

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

This passage is referring to worrying, but I wanted to draw our attention to the little blessings God created—birds. When my sister and I recharged at the cottage we observed more species of them. Gorgeous! Why hadn’t we noticed them before? Could it be because we were so busy we didn’t take the time to stop and look at them? Probably. We all have hectic lives. We’re running here and there. Why do we do this to ourselves? When was the last time we stopped to smell the roses, look at the birds, or even just look up at the many amazing cloud formations?

Don’t wait until it’s too late.

clouds

Psalm 23:2 (NASB)

“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.”

I like this. He makes us lie down. Not wishes, but makes! And where? Green pastures and quiet waters. Not in the middle of a busy street or somewhere you can’t think. God inspired the authors of the Bible to write about rest. He knew we needed peace and quiet.

My favorite place to be in the summer is out on my deck early in the morning. When everyone else is fast asleep. It’s my green pasture with quiet waters.

Do you have a spot? We all should.

Zechariah 4:10a (NASB)

“For who has despised the day of small things?”

Okay, before the theologians comment, I know I’m taking this a bit out of context, but I liked the reference. Do you enjoy days with no plans where you can relax and do whatever you want? I do! Also, what about days that are full of activities, but something small is the highlight?

Do we forget to take time and enjoy the small things in a day? Yes! There’s no doubt about it! The hubs and I recently went mini-golfing. Something we haven’t done in years. It was a blast. (I beat him by one stroke…shhhh, don’t tell him I told you! :D)

Don’t despise small moments in our day. They’re gifts!

God uses the little things in life to put a smile on our faces. Do we take them for granted? What if we woke up one day and couldn’t see or hear? Would we have wanted to savor the sound of the cardinal chirping outside our window? Or taking in the brilliant colors of a rainbow? (As I’m typing this, a monarch flew by, so I stopped to watch him. Beautiful!)

Yes, the little things in life are the biggest. They mean the most.

How about we take time to notice them?rainbow

What is your favorite “little big thing” you like to do? Share with us so we can take time to notice it in our lives!

A Thousand Little Things (by Point of Grace)

Is this song perfect for this blog or what??? Listen to the words. Love this part:

Moments of your mercy
That every new day brings.
A quiet porch, a sunset view
A lazy rainy afternoon
A day with nothing much to do
I’m filled with gratitude

Are you grateful for the little things in life? God shows His love in each one of them!

6 Comments

  1. susan steeves

    Wow Dar you wrote this so beautifully. I walked through my mind the memories of our vacation as I read each line, and pictured it all. It reminded me of such great peace because we did stop and smell the roses and so…much … more…I am so glad you shared this important lesson to us all about life and how important it is to stop and reflect and just…be. Love you!

    Reply
    • Darlene L. Turner

      I think the key word is “stop” – if we don’t do that from time to time we’ll never notice the little things around us! Thank you for helping me do that on our vacation!

      Reply
  2. elisabeth

    great job. love the gentle reminder. the devil loves to blind us with the seemingly massive trials in our lives, but Jesus gives us a thousand little things every day to smile about. love it. thank you.

    Reply
    • Darlene L. Turner

      Thanks Elisabeth! Yes, the devil does like to blind us. Errr….! Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  3. Church Lady.....

    Oh Dar this is awesome.. I have just gone through the busiest vacation I have ever had and resent the fact that I didn’t just sit and just be. But I do know that God was in everything I did so I know he will give me strength. I luv you Doll

    Reply
    • Darlene L. Turner

      Hey, Diane (aka Church Lady!)….yah, some vacations aren’t restful are they? Hopefully you can take another week off soon to just rest! xo

      Reply

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