Have you ever felt small, insignificant or left out?
Yesterday our youngest daughter and her family came for lunch. We bar-b-qued hamburgers, I had made potato salad and we had homemade ice cream for dessert. It was a fun day.
Kaci and Stephen have blessed us with our three youngest grandchildren. On Sunday, we had taken the older two for an “adventure” to the ostrich ranch but the youngest had to stay home. When her brother and sister walked out the door without her, she cried. It broke my heart!
Yesterday we were getting ready to take a walk up to the mailboxes and she was going to need to stay home again. We felt the walk would have been too much for her little legs. But as we started to leave, she cried again at the thought of being left behind. We stopped and took her with us.
I carried her a bit; her mom carried her some and we let her walk on her own. It made for a longer walk timewise but it also created an atmosphere of acceptance and learning. We included her and that was what was important.
I am impressed by the significance of small gestures, small beginnings.
We sometimes make judgements of what is or isn’t important, what has value. Here the disciples judged the boy’s lunch as small or insignificant but what Jesus saw was the significance of a heart willing to share.
“But they said, “We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish.” 18 Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him, 19 and he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.” Matthew 14:17-19 CEV
A small lunch fed thousands. A small act of kindness changed Zacchaeus’ life. A small basket in the Nile River cradled Moses. A small seed of faith can move mountains. A small babe brought salvation to the world.
“Finally, Jesus said: What is God’s kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. 32 But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 CEV
We all can play a “small” part in God’s kingdom. The Father isn’t bothered by small. He takes what we offer and uses it for His glory. Never despise small beginnings!