“I’m Number 2! I’m Number 2!” (or 3, or 10…)

Ever wonder what the big deal is about big deals?  As I “chronologically expand” and the world morally shrinks, I’m liking obscurity more and more.  Nobody in politics needs to know my name, Hollywood’s not interested in any hidden talent in my house, and I certainly don’t need my face plastered on some billboard.  No awards.  No accolades.  No name recognition.

May sound like sour grapes, I know, but think of it.  Solitude is priceless in our society, and there are those who, I can only imagine, thirst for it unrequited. 

However, what our “BIG-thinking” society tends to forget is the importance of “the little”.  So the account about King David on the run for his life when his wayward son, Absalom, temporarily succeeds in his coup, is of curious concern.

David had a few spies of his own up his sleeve; well, no, actually they were embedded within Absalom’s palace, and when the plot was made to murder the fleeing monarch…

“Arrangements had been made for a servant girl to bring them the message they were to take to King David.”

LOVE IT!  A servant girl!  Not a soldier, but a servant; not a man, but a young woman (or girl).  And women weren’t exactly considered trustworthy or intelligent, either.  We don’t know her name as she remained obscure.  We don’t know her reward (if any), but she could have been killed if captured.  We do know that if she had failed with what had been entrusted to her, King David could have been eliminated. 

Seemingly small parts have huge consequences.

God gives us small things to do: teach Vacation Bible School, mow the church lawn, or your elderly neighbor’s.  Listening to a friend’s lament over their children…again.  Forgiving the very irritating relative…again.  And praying.  Always praying, even when we see the opposite of what we’ve been praying for.  Praying anyway.

A wise blogging brother, Wally Fry of Truth in Palmyra, put it this way:

“Are we so concerned about the ‘big’ plans God has for us that we forget the small plans count also? Are we wanting to get revived by a big hoopla in our church buildings with crowds, preaching, and music or are we willing to work the details of God’s plan person by person as Elijah did here? If we are only living for the big, high visibility plans, and don’t have time or inclination for the seemingly small plans, we may need reviving.”

Vive la petite! 

No pain/no gain–where’d THAT come from??

The famous Missouri KATY Trail!

 

Just had my long-awaited and summarily needed doctor’s appointment for a couple of whining and complaining knees. This had begun to make itself known years ago, along with several other things; it’s like I turned 31 and the warranty on my body expired.  I honestly don’t care too much about doing any more 5-K’s—I hated running when even when I was in high school sports,(which wasn’t much back in the 70’s compared to today’s competitive environment.)  I would, however, like to walk without a limp, and pursue terrain hiking and off-road biking a little more than I have so far.

Unfortunately, one of our daughters has inherited her mom’s inconvenient orthopaedic anomaly, and on top of that, was considerably more athletic in high school.  There wear and tear on her knees drove her to more drastic measures at her young age, and in the process of physical therapy she was given a series of exercises that are a bit different from our culture’s machismo attitude of “no pain, no gain” mentality.   No weights, at least to begin with, no gym facility fees, just simple, isometric, and easy things to do for rehab.  In fact, she confessed that when she had stopped doing the prescribed exercises (given to her by the professional experts, I might underline, they seemed too easy) the difficulties began to return, and were improved when she started again.  Hmmm…

Similarly, we tend to think that being with God has to be hard.  I’m not knocking those that do the 40-day fasting kind of thing, but it’s probably not a good place for most of us to start.  It’s easy to think that if I can’t be proficient in something immediately, then why bother?  Starting and “failing” (however you define that) and starting again; it’s just too discouraging.

What we tend to miss in this line of reasoning is that, when it comes to getting to know our true Father, failure is only defined as not starting at all, and or once started, being persistent even the “small” things.  There are lots of other strategies for this divine relationship that I would like to explore in this format….later.  But suffice it to say for now, that just getting started in a way that seems far too easy is the first step, with surprising results.

Now it’s time to do those wall sits that my husband has been telling me to do all along.  (I’ll probably never live THAT one down…)     –dawnlizjones