The Little Things

Often it's not the "big" things in life that make me happy-- oh sure the big things can be great, but they happen few and far between. It's the smaller, little, every-day things that make up the tapestry of life... the little "threads" that bring out the details. 

I've been thinking a lot about the little things lately. A random card from a friend, a posted note left on my desk that made me smile, a call from someone randomly to let me know they were thinking of me or praying for me, a comment on my blog/myspace.... just make me happy. Last week someone left a note and a pack of flower seeds on my car windshield while I was at work, and when I came out at 5 and saw them, at first I thought-- "Oh great... I have ANOTHER stalker!" but no... It was just a warm thought, and an "oh, I happened to be in your neck of the woods and I thought of you" note that made me feel special and pulled at the corners of my mouth. 

This is just a side note, but to all you guys out there.... girls LOVE the little things. we could LIVE on little things. They are the things that make us fell loved and precious. I told the above story to some of the gals I work with and they melted into a chorus of "awwwes" and smiles. I think I could speak for a lot of us when I say that we (as females) would rather have a handful of small things- wild flowers picked on the side of the road, a note stuck on our dashboard, a toy from a quarter machine, a cd that you mixed just for us, a phone call in the middle of the day -- than to have you get us something that is expensive or extravagant. I even had a co-worker tell me that she loves when her husband buys her cheap jewelry... the kind you find at walmart/meijer. For a long time he never bought her anything because he thought that if he couldn't buy her the best (as in expensive) than why do it at all? But as soon as he realized that she didn't care, he started getting her little things on trips to the grocery store, and now she has a lot of fun stuff... and it's a fun way for her husband to express his love. Sometimes I think we get bogged down thinking we always have to do bigger and better... thinking it's no good or won't be appreciated if it's not "better" than the last time. um, yeah... DON'T BUY that LIE! 

So yeah... it's the little things... and it's not just "things"... it's actions too. My brother helping me fix a friends computer, my mom making me a hot breakfast one morning last week when she COULD have been in bed, an extra long green light, or a coworker offering to buy lunch for you. I think God loves delighting us in the little things, but I wonder how often we forget to thank Him? Or not even acknowledge them at all but take them for granted?  Or how often do we bask in "receiving" and not "give back"--share the little things with others? I don't know... maybe this is just a lot of randomness running through my head right now, but I think for at least the next month I am going to consciously try to see how God can use me to encourage others through "the little things." Listen longer, watch the words that come out of my mouth more carefully and choose to be encouraging, be consciously thoughtful--outward looking... after-all.. it's not really about US at all is it....?

Just some food for thought today...

What kind of little things make YOU smile?