Small

“Do not despise these small beginnings, 

for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” 

(Zechariah 4:10 NLT)

These past few days I have felt small.  Very small.

Small as I saw images of fellow brothers-in-Christ singing praises before they saw Jesus face-to-face.

Small as I saw pictures of babies with their umbilical cords cut too short left in a box to be rescued by an Asian man half way across the world.

Small as I listened to a friend struggling in a situation with one of her parents who is fighting for her life.

Small.

And I am over here, ironing my clothes and I feel myself shrinking in my thoughts. And I feel helpless. Teeny, tiny.

Infinitesimal.

My heart aches and I begin praying to a big God.

Who is Infinite.

And He sees my smallness.

And I read in His Word how He honors the small things.
And sees the person who feels small.

And I think He takes my small things and uses them to create 

big, beautiful eternal things.

And lots of small things can add up to be lots of big things.
And maybe there is a big lesson to be learned in being faithful in the small things.
So I begin laying my small things at His feet.

And I don't despise being so small anymore.

Don't look for big things, just do small things with great love....

The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.  --Mother Teresa

Traditions

Dale and I grew up together and one of the first memories I have of his mother's house is how she always decorated for the seasons. I remembering walking through her living room to the kitchen, always anticipating the rotating table arrangement...a paper mache Santa...an Easter basket...a Valentine tree... 

It is a memory I carried into my marriage and 

try to recreate for my family.

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. I love the red (of course) and the hearts and the love that floats around:). 

In past years, we left 'love deposits' in each others' mailboxes during the month. I wrote about one particular memory here.

Do you decorate for the holidays?

A New Chapter

My mommy retired.

I remember when she got the job at the hospital.

I remember what I felt like knowing that she wouldn't be home anymore on the weekends (because she was assigned to the weekend shift).

I remember watching my two little brothers alone and refereeing fights and cooking omelets for dinner and being scared when storms came and trying to protect them.

I remember how hard my mommy worked and how tired she would be after a twelve hour shift. How she still made sure the clothes were washed and the meals were cooked and the house was picked up.

It has been hard for me to watch her still work as hard in her later years.Things have had to go on the wayside. Housecleaning and grandchildren's school plays and weekend volleyball matches and making sure daddy eats right.

She has paid her dues. She has finished her job well. She is done with that chapter in her life.

And I am happy for her.

I pray she will enjoy this next season of housecleaning and school plays and volleyball games and making sure my daddy eats well.

I think it will be a full-time job:).

 (We surprised her with celebratory cake and ice cream amidst protests that she hadn't even combed her hair. She is still beautiful to me.)