Tuesday, June 8, 2010

small things

sometimes what i do feels small.  very small.  i see little differences.  i hear little encouragements.  yet it all seems purposeless in the grand scheme of things.  i've helped a kid grow from reading 1-3 sentences to reading chapter books.  helped a child come out of their shell.  broken down walls in a little boy so that he welcomes things out of his comfort zone.  helped a little girl learn how to spell her first words.  

yet billions, yes billions, do not know Christ as their Savior.  millions will go to bed hungry tonight.  child prostitution around the world rages on.  people are abused and rejected without hope.  homes are destroyed by earthquakes, famines, floods.  

and i sit in fort myers because God has not told me to "go."  i teach because He has sent me these children to me.  6 kids now, from 2 different families.  

and i try to wrap my mind around the diversity in my mind.  the burden for the world mentally, yet so often my spirit is unwilling.   because deep down - this is what i want:

to be a wife and mother.  and do it as well as i possibly can.  no matter where i am.  

and i don't see how that meshes with solving all the world's problems and it's deep need for Christ either.  

maybe i'm made for the small things.  maybe i'll never end up in any history books.  maybe i'll never be famous (and i admit it, most of my life i've wanted that - drama queen that i am).  

maybe i'm made for the small things.  and the question is, will i do them well?  or will i sit and stew because they feel small?  will i worry that i'm not important, while forgetting that the truth is that i'm actually not important, but the God of all creation is?

maybe it's okay to feel small.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

beautiful words abby! as you labor to do God's work He is up in the heavenlies smiling at the wonderful plan He has for your life. keep on pressing forward... for I know you will be blessed for all the "small things" you do!

the rinehart's said...

sorry..my hubby was logged in and I didn't realize it! the comment was from me.

EmileeHope said...

All the little things are so important...as are you! I love you Abby dear and I know you are making a difference because helping one person makes a difference and you have encouraged me!!

Lena said...

Ps 8:2...Its the basis for the child theology movement...and well, even if you think that being a wife and a mother is a small thing, it isnt because every cry of every new infant in the word, crushes Jesus' enemy satan...Remember that Satan's goal is to defeat us through death, each life is a death blow to Satan's plan...keep training up the death blows :) its God's plan!!

Josh said...

And who knows what those same children you taught will go on to do for the kingdom? Who knows what will be accomplished because you taught a child to read or to write or to welcome new things? Maybe you won't end up in the history books, but you are playing a part in shaping the future. And that is no small thing.

My Half Of said...

Well, one of the world's problems is population density. Educating kids who are here already (as you have been doing) is an honorable purpose, even though it's not particularly valued or rewarded by our society. Some people are driven to personally answer a sense of solving the world's problems" in many ways - by adopting kids, by learning, modeling & teaching communication skills, by doing loving and compassionate acts. It pays off over the course of your life to express your values in actions, although how you're expressing it at that time seems to "make no difference." Small things add up.
Small is beautiful! People who excel at something are doing what comes easily; it seems not to be a "big thing" to them. So attending to "small things" that come easily means you're taking your God-given talents for a spin!