But then, what about the little things? You know… the things that happen every day that you and I hardly take notice of. Things like, the light turning green at just the right moment, or your wife taking an extra minute to start the coffee pot in the morning when it’s generally you that does it. Or maybe just a little bit bigger things, but not too big or you’d actually have to notice they were special.
Take this evening for instance. There I was; sitting at my desk working away when the home phone rang and my wife picked it up. She pulled the phone away from her face and said “It’s Mike Lloyd honey”. Now I hadn’t heard from Mike in almost a year. He had decided not to attend the church we go to some years before, but we maintained our friendship. Mike had worked at the local video game store and I saw him whenever my son and I stopped in. Mike has a big heart and a gentle soul and I am always encouraged to talk with him. So anyway, he called. I said “Mike… it’s good to hear from you. I haven’t seen you in quite a while”. He said, “You probably won’t either. I’m in Georgia”. What followed was a nice long conversation that encouraged my soul. But here’s the miracle of it all. At the end of the call Mike said “I really miss you. You’ve helped me a lot tonight brother”. Somehow, in the process of encouraging me, Mike was encouraged. We hung up and my wife called me to dinner.
We had leftovers tonight and I was the last one to eat because I had to step out to drop off a package for work. I was eating at the kitchen table watching my wife gather the flowers she picked from our front yard to give to her friend Gloria for her birthday. Suddenly, she jumped back with a start as if she’d been bitten by a snake and gasped. I thought she’d seen a giant spider and got to my feet with a lurch. Then, as if by magic a calm came over her like a wave and she said “Aaah… it’s a praying mantis”. There upon the giant leaf she had clipped from our bird of paradise in the front yard was a beautiful praying mantis about three inches long. I took the leaf outside with the praying mantis clinging for dear life and set him back upon the plant he called home. As I walked back into the house to replace the leaf in the vase my wife said “Gloria really is getting a special flower arrangement for her birthday. It already been prayed over”.
As with the poor widow with her two copper coins (Luke 21:2) or the boy with his lunch of five small barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:9) God uses the little things to encourage us when we’re down, lift us up when we’ve stumbled and give us his love when we need it most. Blessed are those who take the time to notice.