Ripples

"People were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:13-16

"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread to feed these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, "It would take more than half a year's wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Another of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish."

You don't have to be a parent to know that children can be some of the world's best teachers. No creature on Earth can better humble you than a child. You quickly learn how little control you actually have and how much grace you are given. It is a daily reminder for me. I love big dreams, plans, goals and the notion of legacy. Big thoughts can make small deeds feel like just that sometimes, small. In the seemingly trivial tasks of day to day life, it is easy for the enemy to sneak his ugly self into my head and say, "Are you really making a difference here?" or "Does anything you do really matter?"

Ugh... I hate that guy...

Then I sit back on a simple, typical day on my front porch with my now two year old daughter. I had not done much other than wash dishes and a load of laundry. I probably had swept the floor at least once that morning. We have a cheap Popsicle, the kind that definitely does NOT have "real fruit juice" in it and play with her kitten. We watch the trees move as the wind blows or she will chatter will me about the pecans that are falling or will fall soon. Then she looks through our flower beds that she helped me plant. My little girl is a nurturer through and through. She goes by each marigold and picks off the brown, dead buds. She already knows how to sort through weeds. She proudly reports to me that she planted flowers and that they are so pretty! Are you melting yet??

I recognize the sweetness of her heart for sure, but it is when I look over again at the flower bed that the Lord in His kindness shared something more with me. Do you know what I saw? I saw butterflies on the flowers near our feet and a hummingbird enjoying the nectar from another plant on the other side of the porch. My daughter's effort was so pure and focused on the one task she held in our little gardening project and maintaining it's health. She did not even have to think twice about the fact that she would provide housing to the lizard that she would soon look forward to seeing every afternoon. She had no idea that she would nourish butterflies and hummingbirds, two of her favorite creatures to watch for, as she poured water from her hot pink watering can onto the plants. She kept her eyes on her one task and it enriched many other lives in the ripple effect of her diligence. I am incredibly proud of her. I am incredibly thankful that God used her, an innocent child, to remind me that big things happen in how He blesses the efforts we put toward the things of our lives, even in the tasks that seem small or mundane. Jesus really did bless the children didn't He?

So for today? Well, today is not going to look much different than many other days. I am going to clean our home, wash some clothes that I will hang up to dry because our dryer is broken, I'll prepare dinner and go through our usual routine.  And I will have an extra intentional, grateful, prayerful heart in it, because even when it gets hard or a day seems boring, I love this life that God gave me so much and I would rather be doing exactly what I am doing than anything else in this world. For me, surrendering to my calling is worship.. I am so thankful that the Lord gave us a sweet little girl to remind me of this! To be grateful to Christ in serving in that calling? That is the best thing. Be encouraged! The things that we are working toward are leading to something spectacular! Thy Kingdom Come. Amen.