Small Things

Me:  Dylan, hurry up!!!  We've got to go!

crickets...

UGH!!!! ARGHHHH!!!

I start the car and begin pulling out of the garage hoping the sound would make Dylan move faster...of course it didn't, but what did happen was that out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of nature's amazing wonder: a Monarch butterfly expanding its gorgeous wings right behind Dylan's basketball hoop.  For the last few days, Dylan had been so excited, calling everyone to see the progression of a cocoon opening up to let out a still immature butterfly.  "Look, look!  Come and see this!" would be his constant yelling...desperate for the rest of the family to witness the miracle.  Of course, his exclamations had been met by bored "yeah..." half-glances and exasperated: "ok, ok, I see it!" by the rest of the clan.  But not this morning...I saw that Monarch spendor and I was mesmerized...

I pulled in the garage again...thinking...what's a few seconds more...Dylan finally appeared, and when he opened the door of the car, I said to him: go look.  He knew what I meant, so he went right away while I observed him on the rear view mirror and witnessed the miracle: a teenager's face lit up by wonder...

"Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?" Zechariah 4: 10

I just came across this wonderful verse this morning, but it's quickly becoming a favorite. Zechariah was a prophet sent to proclaim the Word of God to the people of Israel as they were growing discouraged in their quest to rebuild the temple. After many years of captivity in Babylon, contingents of israelites came back to Jerusalem led by Zerubbabel. They started rebuilding, but disappointed by the little progress made due to conflict and disagreements, the people had began to feel as if they would never see the temple built again.

Hmmm...

Sounds familiar?  It sure does to me.  However, the Rescuer of our Souls never disappoints!  He comes in with the right ____________ (fill in the blank) at precisely the most perfect time to encourage us on.  In this case, a most vivid admonition:  "Who dares despise the day of small things..."  I. LOVE. THIS. PART!!!

This is the part that caught my attention..."who dares despise the day of small things..." A question lingering in our minds, for we ... I have been guilty over and over and over again to do just that: despise the day of small things.  In a world where only the "big" things are valued, small things are ignored and discarded as useless.  In a society where time is money, pausing to enjoy the small things is perceived as a ridiculously extravagant waste.  In the days of rushing because we're running late, taking it easy to admire the small things is just not done...in a moment when the car is started and one's about to pull out of the garage to try to squeeze what little time we have most efficiently into our tight schedule, taking a few seconds to admire the small things of nature's magic reflected on the still wondering eyes of a teen who is about to leave behind the ways of a little boy any moment now is just unimaginably stupid.

Praise the Lord for the small things!!!  The image on the rear view mirror is tattooed on my mind bringing me great joy, thanks to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to stop at the sight of a seemingly small thing.  Dylan open the door of the car again and climbed in.  We talked about Monarchs and how he had learned about them in school.  We drove in silence for a while...long enough to savor the event before Dylan put his headphones on and disconnected from me again...but I hope the memory persists and that I never forget the power of the small things.