The Significance of Small
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"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." Romans 12:9
"The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!" 2 Corinthians 6:12
Do you ever feel as if your life and the things you do each day are insignificant? Our world moves at such a fast pace and people are always on the go, hooked up to numerous tech devices at all times. Information comes at us 24/7 and there are constant images thrust at us encouraging us to live a life full of adventure and meaning and zest. The messages, often as part of commercials designed to sell us something, tell us that if we will just wear the right clothes or choose the right makeup or beauty products, go on the right trips, drink the right beverages and have the right technology, our lives will be fuller, more exciting and beautiful. But, even with all of these products purported to make us "live large" available at our fingertips, life can often still feel like we are never "quite there" with contentment. And, it can be disappointing to realize that the things we possess are never going to be enough to make us feel worthwhile and like our lives truly have meaning. It's easy to fall into the negative thought that our life is small and that we are truly just a "drop in the bucket" among the 7.6 billion people currently inhabiting earth and that those billions of others are leading more exciting and/or worthwhile lives while ours is insignificant and small. If you have ever felt this way (and in all honesty, probably most of us have felt this way at one time or other), try asking yourself the following questions: "Is this really true that my life is so small?" and "Does small have to mean insignificant?" Consider the following.
If you want to talk small, let's look at a water molecule. According to nasa.gov, a cube of water, one inch on a side, contains about 600,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules! That means there are 120 times more water molecules in the cubic inch of water than there are stars in the observable universe!! And yet, if just one of those water molecules was missing, the cube of water wouldn't be a cube. So, I think we can safely say that being 1/600,000,000,000,000,000,000 of the cubic inch of water is pretty important! Small is not insignificant! Not by a long shot! Just ask those other 599,999,999,999,999,999,999 water molecules who are waiting for that "one" to show up so they can form a cube!
The scriptures I'm sharing today also speak to the idea of small not being insignificant. If we feel like our lives are small and that what we do with them is of little importance, perhaps we need to reframe our thinking. For me, personally, these scriptures are eye openers. So much of what I do on a daily basis seems "small." The little routines and groups I participate in are happy parts of my life but, do they really make a difference to anyone in particular or to the world as a whole? And yet, I know that God leads my life and places me in places that I need to be at certain times. Just like that "one" water molecule is necessary to complete the cube, I am necessary in God's plan. And if I'm missing, something won't be complete. That's neither small nor insignificant. It's pretty great actually!
My "small" life is really not small, nor is it insignificant in God's plan. And neither is yours.
So tell me, what does your "molecule" need to do for God's kingdom today?
Blessings,
Debbie
The scriptures I'm sharing today also speak to the idea of small not being insignificant. If we feel like our lives are small and that what we do with them is of little importance, perhaps we need to reframe our thinking. For me, personally, these scriptures are eye openers. So much of what I do on a daily basis seems "small." The little routines and groups I participate in are happy parts of my life but, do they really make a difference to anyone in particular or to the world as a whole? And yet, I know that God leads my life and places me in places that I need to be at certain times. Just like that "one" water molecule is necessary to complete the cube, I am necessary in God's plan. And if I'm missing, something won't be complete. That's neither small nor insignificant. It's pretty great actually!
My "small" life is really not small, nor is it insignificant in God's plan. And neither is yours.
So tell me, what does your "molecule" need to do for God's kingdom today?
Blessings,
Debbie
1 comment:
What a wonderful message, Debbie! I really enjoyed the information from NASA about the water molecule. It gives me a whole different perspective on my life. I do ask these same questions sometimes. I think being retired contributes to those thoughts. While working, I had a role to play in children's lives, and my teaching felt significant. Without that, the questions you posed come up for me now and then. A daily meditation I read each day went right along with your post as I read both of them this morning. When that happens, it resonates with me that the messages are ones I need to hear. And by the way, just like the water molecule, my life would not be complete without you and your friendship.
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