Have you heard the phrase, “Don’t sweat the small stuff?”
I have. And I won’t ever pay attention to it again.
Small stuff can be really BIG stuff.
Taking a hike one spring day a few years back, I hesitated on the path. The kids bounded ahead on the trail, took shortcuts through the woods, and wandered along the riverbank. The year before, I had been bitten by a deer tick and had a nasty bout with Lyme’s disease. The effects, honestly, were just going away and I was terrified of having another year like the one I just had experienced. Kenny “encouraged” me by saying, “You can’t live your life in fear. Let’s go.”
It was his version of “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
And in the grand scheme of life, a tick is certainly a very small thing and, compared to the much more serious and sad illnesses of many others, my Lyme’s disease was more of a painful and annoying inconvenience. Especially the nine months of double vision.
So I went.
And that day I was bitten by a NJ newcomer, the Lone Star tick.
Another very small bite by a very small creature that has caused me VERY BIG problems. This nasty tick has given me Alpha-gal syndrome and sent me to the ER with itchy hives and a closing-up throat. Thanks to this bitty bug, I now carry an EpiPen and have to read a lot of labels. I can no longer eat any mammal meat and, early on, I could not tolerate dairy products either. No cheese, no ice cream. It was simply un-American. What was Texas thinking?
See? Maybe I should have sweated the small stuff and stayed in the car.
Anyway, it’s that time of year again. Those horrible, parasitic little insects have been on my mind once again. But I braved a hike on Mother’s Day, taking all the necessary Covid19 AND tick precautions necessary. So far, so good.
Meanwhile, my mind is stuck on the perplexing reality that a little, tiny, insignificant thing, like a creepy-crawly tick, can make a BIG difference in someone’s life. MY life in particular…
Small stuff can be really big stuff, can’t it?
A little pimple on the first day of school.
A tiny splinter.
A small shadow on the x-ray.
A tiny heartbeat.
A small and shiny diamond ring.
A little, white lie.
A little faith the size of a mustard seed.
A bit in the horse’s mouth.
A little leak.
A little gift.
A small spark.
The tiny tongue.
A little sip.
The still, small voice.
These small things can be really big. They may be things we don’t need to sweat. Or maybe we do. Small things can be or bring huge blessings as well as great pain and disappointment.
I think I’ve whined to you before about my limited dietary issues since my latest tick encounter. I so miss a juicy cheeseburger right off the grill or a crispy BLT made with Jersey’s finest. And I am ashamed that, given this premise that keeps bouncing through my brain, that small stuff can be really big stuff, I find I immediately latch onto all the negative examples around me instead of considering the positive side of the proposition. I can’t seem to get beyond that tick. And the loss of that Bubba Burger.
Then tonight, in our monthly family Zoom prayer meeting, my sweet sister-in-law from North Carolina prayed that we as a family would have eyes to see all the little ways God is rescuing us, providing for us, protecting us, guiding us, blessing us, strengthening us, and loving us…especially in these uncertain and restless days. She reminded us that we should recognize the hundreds of little things He does for us in our commonplace days, things we should never take for granted, things that should enlarge our hearts with enormous gratitude and thanksgiving.
Immediately, the Holy Spirit stirred my heart and began the work of transforming my perspective. I asked God to forgive my selfish, microscopic focus on me and my small, insignificant world with its little problems. I asked Him to help me move beyond my petty issues and concentrate on what is important to Him, who is important to Him. Little blessing after little blessing, and person after person, began flashing through my mind making me smile as my family on my screen continued to pray. In the mundane and ordinary small moments of my every day, my good Father is always at work. The sum of all the little things He is doing for me daily is vast beyond all accounting. What amazing grace! It’s huge. I need to count my many blessings. And thank Him.
Can you think of some little ways our caring Father is providing for you too? Have you thanked Him? That’s big stuff.
Then I thought about little things some more. Can you even imagine little me and little you, average fools at best, being loved by and adopted by God Himself? Can you even grasp the unbelievable and incredible BIG-ness of that very thought? He wants us. He desires a relationship with us. With God, the Potter, small, messy, incomplete, flawed and broken people can be re-formed into really big, useful, and beautiful stuff, vessels fit for the Master’s use, carefully sculpted by His hands. He is committed to forming us, His beloved children, into His image. Incredible, right?
What little or big plans and purposes do you think He has made you for? How are you doing with them? That’s more big stuff.
It occurs to me that Jesus often speaks of small things being big things.
He teaches that the first shall be last. He’s inferring that the self-proclaimed big shots of the world are going to be shocked when humble little guys, servants of all, will be big in the Kingdom of God. He modeled that principle for them as well.
He says seekers must become like little children if they want a place in His big and glorious Kingdom. No self-righteous big cheeses allowed.
Jesus tells His followers that when they do little acts of kindness, especially to the downtrodden, marginalized little guys, and they offer a small cup of water in His name, it’s like they are offering it to Jesus Himself. How BIG is that?
Jesus announces that if His followers had faith the size of a tiny mustard seed, they could move big mountains. Wow.
Jesus says He knows when a tiny sparrow falls. Don’t you think He cares much more for you? Don’t you think, knowing how loved you are, that He will watch over you in a big way?
The small stuff can be really big stuff in the Kingdom of God. Jesus says it’s true. So we don’t need to sweat the small stuff after all.
We just may need to embrace it.
Or do it.
So what small thing can you do today that could possibly make a big impact on someone? Make a list and follow through at the Spirit’s prompting. Can you write a note, make a call, bake some brownies, pick some flowers, or offer to shop for someone who is isolated and disconnected?
Mother Teresa admonishes us, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
And Winnie the Pooh adds, “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts.”
Pretty wise words from a funny, little bear.
I so hope Hundred Acre Wood has been sprayed for ticks…
—Eileen Hill
