Little Things

I will admit, sometimes I am crazy busy and pretty stressed, and when I am I often overlook “the little things.”  On weeks like this one where I am juggling work, appointments, parent teacher conferences, family obligations, heightened stress levels, and hoping to feed my family something slightly more nutritious than frozen pizza- I am just not spectacular at noticing small details or simple gestures.  But the last few days I have been given precious reminders… sometimes those “little things” really are the big things. 

While (A) had some work obligations this past weekend, (a) and I spent a couple days at the farm with my family and my grandparents who were in from out of state.  On my Saturday morning run I let myself literally run, down memory lane.  I have gone up and down that stretch of county road hundreds of thousands of times in my life… and in the early cool of the quiet sunshine on Saturday morning I allowed myself to remember those times. 

When I was a little girl my mom and I would walk down the road to the main part of the farm to check in with dad.  We would stop and smell the honeysuckle, pick milkweed and Queen Anne’s lace, and I remember that it could NOT go in the house because my Momma didn’t want ants…. Sometimes the little things really are the big things.  When I was learning to ride my bike, it was the pinnacle of achievement when I was deemed safe enough to ride from the house to the barns at the main part of the farm.  As I entered jr high, my grandfather was battling full blown Alzheimer’s Disease and my daily trip up the road included stopping that their house to pick up Papaw on the ATV so he could go with me to water cows.  It wasn’t a taxing chore on either of us, but it was precious time together.  Him feeling as if he was still contributing to the farming operation, and me learning how to reverse the roles of care.  It wasn’t a big deal to me… but sometimes the “little things” are the big things.  As a teenager, I hauled all kinds of farm equipment up and down that stretch of road, and I will always remember how much I enjoyed those long hours in the tractor lost in my thoughts and singing loudly to the songs on the radio.  There were even a few times I hit that stretch of road REALLY early in the morning because (A) and I had been to the late movie the night before, and I knew that if I wanted to be allowed to go on another date with that cute guy from the next county over I better prove that I could “roll early” the next morning to be at work even after being out late.  When I went away to college, that stretch of road came to mean even more- because while I loved what I was doing the time I spent at home was all the more precious.  And as I have grown to an adult with a family of my own, the stretch of road always brings me back to safely, security, roots, faith, family, life’s important lessons… all those “little things” that really are the big things.  As I allowed myself all those memories this past weekend I couldn’t help but realize that all those “little things” are what made me who I am.  They make up the biggest parts of me. 

Later that same morning (a) wanted me to go with him to “see baby cow” as he put it and check on “Doc” (my sister’s horse).  As I watched him lead me around the farm and jabber at me like it was the first time I had ever been there and he was the official tour guide- I have to admit, I wiped away a few tears.  Just the “little things” like watching him climb the gate the same way I used to and how excited he was to “see cows” made me realize that those little moments together really are the big things, the things that matter. 

The last few weeks our family has received so many cards, calls, texts, messages, invitations, and words of encouragement.  I know that to the people who extended those things it felt like something small… but sometimes the “little things” really are the big things.  Today one of my dearest friends kept (a) for the day and when she returned him he was also accompanied by a hot dinner prepared for our family because she knew I’m a little overwhelmed right now.  Because I know her heart, I know she thought those were little things, but to me they were big things that meant more than I could even tell her.  And it made me think again… that I need to stop- even in the busy weeks- and pay attention to the “little things.”  Because more times that I realize, the little things really are the big things.

 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”  Matthew 13:31-32