It's the Little Things

He’s 4 years old, exhausted, hot, sweaty, and miserable. We’re attending a worship service being held outside. We’re under a tent. It must be 90 degrees. I’m enjoying the pastor deliver an expository sermon from I John. He knows the guy is preaching. He knows this is church and it’s important. He knows he is supposed to behave, and he is actually behaving better than some adults! But for all that, he’s still 4 years old.

So he climbs up in my lap, wraps his arm around my neck, and lays his head on my shoulder. He is hot and sticky. He holds me tight. He’s my son, and I treasure this moment.

My family and I are walking on a trail through the woods near a lake. We enjoy the family time, the exercise, and the nature. It’s just a leisurely time together. I am walking a few steps ahead of everyone else. She runs to catch up with me. She slows her pace when she arrives at my side. She begins talking to me about the things that matter to her. She reaches up with her hand and grabs my hand, and we stroll together hand-in-hand. This is totally unprovoked. I didn’t ask her to walk with me, talk to me, or hold my hand. But she grasps my hand with her little fingers nonetheless. She is my 6 year old daughter, and she has just made my day.

It’s the little things that have come to mean the world to me. A hug from my son. Holding hands with my daughter. These little things are huge!

It’s also the little things that remind me of how vast is the grace of God. Every one of these little things are gifts from God meant not only to warm our hearts toward one another but to inflame our hearts for Him! These little things contain within them elements of grace that remind me of His wondrous love towards us in Christ. These little things are mere streams which flow from the true Fountain of Grace.

His grace toward me was totally unprovoked, that is, nothing in me warranted His gracious affections. Nonetheless, He has swallowed me in His arms of grace and granted me communion with Him through Christ. How kind and gracious is He. How undeserving and unworthy am I.

It’s the little things that mean so much. It’s the little things that speak volumes! It’s the little things that are reflections of the Source of Life. It’s the little things that whisper to us daily of the infinite, inexhaustible grace and mercy of God!