More of the Little Things

Dear beloved, 

This week alone I have been reminded time and time again to return to the little things. I have written before about taking the time to stop and breathe and acknowledge God's hand in the things around me. I had no idea how necessary that was to having peace and joy. 

         I have heard pastors in church saying, “If you struggle with it then start small, and slowly you’ll want more.” While I’ve always believed that to be true, I’ve never noticed that take place in my life until recently.

         I don’t know about you, but these past few weeks have been particularly draining. And I couldn’t help but noticing that it isn’t affecting me the way it used to. For a moment I had completely forgotten to intentionally acknowledge God. It was becoming natural. I didn’t have to force myself to sit in his presence. 

       I don’t have to wait to be somewhere where I have no choice but to see God. For example, the dancing trees, the sunsets, or my church. While I still love those things, it’s becoming easier to see him in the cafeteria, in conversations I have, even on restless nights. 

      It is almost like intentionally starting small helped my ability to see him when I became too busy to go outside every day. Intentionally pursuing peace in the peaceful moments lead to me unknowingly pursuing peace in the hectic moments. I could be walking the track in gym class, in 80-degree weather, and be at complete peace because of a gust of wind 18 minutes ago. 

        It’s easy for us to let the big things overtake our emotions and control the rest of our day. I named this blog More of the Little Things. Definitely not because more good little things have been happening, but because I have been more intentional with what I pay attention to and what I let affect me. 

        The little things matter guys. We have to be intentional when it comes to what we feed our hearts. (I will never stop putting Proverbs 24:3 in my posts.) So as you go about this week take some time to acknowledge the little things. They have a bigger impact than we often recognize.