The Little Things Count

Kip and I had a fantastic weekend! Productive at home, great time at church, good food, and a little too much Netflix watching. We are currently hooked on Prison Break with only 10 episodes to go... If anyone else out there happens to be as obsessed with this show as I am, please tell me so we can bond over it. (Just no spoiling the ending!!).

I got a card from a patient last week. It was a simple thank you card with only four words written inside: "The little things count" and her signature. I am amazed at the depth of wisdom in those words. I don't remember anything special about the week that I cared for her. We didn't have any grand moments or especially deep conversations. I didn't leave work thinking I had done anything important. I'm sure I was feeling tired and hungry, just like I do after every shift. It was just as most days are -- full of the ins and outs of the job--giving blood, managing pain, trying to stay on schedule while stopping to care for the patients when they need it. I know that for this time, my job as an oncology nurse is what I am called to do. But so much of the time it just feels like work. God used this sweet lady to open my eyes and remind me that the little things count so much more than I realize.



Don't we all count the small things? While pondering this over the weekend, Kip and I paid special notice to the things others did that meant a lot to us: A smile from a positive person at our usual bagel shop, someone from church who took the time to get to know us and invite us to a small group. Things that I'm sure these individuals had no idea were important to us. As much as they matter to us, I think they matter even more to Jesus.  I am reminded of the parable in the Bible about the talents and how important it is to use what we've been given. Luke 16:10 says "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much...".  Matt. 25:34-40 says that what we do for the least of these we have done for Christ: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me." One day I will stand before Jesus' throne and account for what I did here on earth. And maybe I'll then realize more fully how big the little things really were. He sees the motive of our hearts, the actions that we may not even think are worthwhile. He treasures them, using them for His great purposes. Anything and everything done for His glory is used to tell the beautiful, redemptive message of the Gospel. "Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all to the glory of God, giving thanks to God the Father through Him"(Col. 3:17). I am encouraged (and challenged!) this week that the little things count. My response to a difficult situation, the words I choose to speak, and individual actions done in kindness ripple out and really do affect people. Each day is a chance to make a difference that can last for eternity. And that is far from small.


"Here lies the tremendous mystery--that God should be all-powerful, yet refuse to be coerced. He summons us to cooperation. We are honored in being given the opportunity to participate in His good deeds. Remember how He asked for help in performing His miracles -- 'Fill the water pots, stretch out your hand, distribute the loaves.'" - Elisabeth Elliot

"A good many are kept out of the service of Christ, deprived of the luxury of working for God, because they are trying to do some great thing. Let us be willing to do little things. And let us remember that nothing is small in which God is the source." -D.L. Moody