It's in the Small Things

Even these little liquid jewels can be a lesson from God! When I homeschooled my kids, we took what we called nature walks almost everyday. The agenda behind the nature walk was to observe nature around them, learn about their surroundings and find something that interests them. If something piqued their curiosity, they were to choose a method such as drawing, writing (i.e. a poem or interesting facts) or taking a picture, then place it into their nature notebooks. Yes, that included discovering bugs, insects and other creepy, crawly things. So, how about a little experiment?

Let's take a nature walk right now. If you don't have daily rain showers then run your sprinklers for a short stint. Next, get a magnifying glass, go outside, take a deep breath (as long as your humidity won't suffocate you!) and simply explore your immediate surroundings. I swear I almost need a magnifying glass to see things that are MEANT to be visible to my eyes! Maybe, I'll need to use a Hubble telescope! Using your magnifying device of choice, find a blade of grass or moss or anything small and count how many droplets of water you can see. Compare the size of those dots of wonder to drops you find on other larger plants, flowers or anything else outside. Are they all the same size or shape whether on the same strand or completely different items or plants? Think about how those droplets and how it might explain your relationship with God. Write down your observations, including any insights or epiphanies and share it with me or someone else. Now, come back and finish reading this blog.

As I read my devotional entry for the morning, Lilias Trotter highlights what she learned from the dew drop. I began to muse that I never actually thought about how large a drop of water is when it falls from your finger. The weight from that same droplet slipping off your finger would be way too heavy for all the delicate blades of grass and tiny wild flowers or moss. Lilias writes, “So He weighs out to each the tiny measure that it can bear without even being bowed down, yet enough to “drink into in abundance.” On one wee filament of moss I counted through a magnifying glass forty-six little globes of water in what just looked like moisture to the naked eye.”

God gives us what we need in the measure needed. Isn’t that a miraculous observation within nature? God uses everything and anyone to speak His truth into our lives! I mean, just look at the couple of images I found - aren’t they beautiful! Those tiny tendrils are still standing straight up!

God sees you, and me, as even more stunning and valuable! Drink that truth in!

Matthew 6:26-34 states: "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?...why are you anxious...Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all this glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious... For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

What comfort and peace these verses should bring to each of us! I used to have these verses personalized into a prayer and taped to my bathroom mirror. I needed and wanted that daily, continuous reminder that God had my back, He knew my pain and He knew what I needed each day. Most importantly, God used those words to repeatedly soothe me so I could let go of the pesky, hope draining power of worrying over the neverending how's, what's, where's and when's of my health! His desire was for me to focus only on each day and nothing more. Such an extraordinarily difficult task for this goal driven-planner of a woman! I'm sure none of you can relate, right? (LOL) If you think it a million times a day then lay it down and give it to God a million and one times!

Life truly is all about perspective so use God's and not your own.

Joni Eareckson-Tada: “Give thanks for what you have. Start small. Give thanks for the fact you are in a wheelchair and not bedridden.”