Find Beauty in the Small Things

Please allow me to share a little of my musings with you.

This morning, as I walked down the driveway, pulling behind me two wheelie bins full of rubbish for their weekly collection, enjoying the worship music playing from my phone, breathing in the humid air that was growing warmer by the minute, I began to take notice of the little things.

With the wet season upon us, the grass and weeds along the driveway have become overgrown, and with the increase in growth, I see splashes of colour as I walk. A tiny yellow flower peeks its head above the untidy blades of grass. A small white bloom cries out to be noticed in amongst the ground cover, hidden by leaves and small twigs. Tiny little mushrooms pop up out of the red dirt, forcing their way through the gravel and stones that line the driveway. The grass is going to seed and in doing so, produces lovely tall stalks of hairlike purple and white ‘flowers’ that sway in the breeze.

It took me a lot longer to walk back to the house as I had to stop and take photos of these little things. Appreciating God’s creation through photography is a passion of mine, and often these miniscule displays of his power and love are overlooked.

But today, I stopped and knelt down to get a better view, marvelling at the detail. Each blade of grass, each tiny petal, each little leaf, dripping with the morning dew was a reminder of God’s goodness to me and the beauty he sees in the small things.

Often in life, we ignore the little things. We don’t take any notice of the mundane, the everyday, the ordinary. We gasp in amazement at the impressive, the extraordinary, the things that cry out for our attention. We are delighted by the sight of a brilliant red rose in full bloom or a jacaranda tree with its purple flowers cascading down from its branches, leaving a mesmerizing carpet of colour in its wake. We stand in awe of a roaring waterfall, or a magnificent snow-covered mountain top.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for getting excited about the awe inspiring, the grand, the enormous, but I love to find beauty in the small things.

Sometimes, we neglect to appreciate the ‘lesser’.

Now, I’m not just thinking about flowers and vistas here. I’m thinking about people. The people in our lives.

God sees beauty in brokenness. He sees beauty in humbleness. In smallness.

Often, we wish we were more like someone else. Maybe you feel overlooked in your job or in your position at church. Maybe you feel like you are just a tiny cog in a big wheel, and you feel kind of useless. You’re just a small thing. A small part of the big picture.

You don’t have an ‘upfront’ job. You work behind the scenes.

You are just a tiny flower in a sea of grass. Don’t be deceived into thinking that your tiny bloom is insignificant. You may be small, in position, in character, in personality, but you could be just the colour someone needs in their life.

You may feel like you’re not making a big difference in the scheme of things. But from little things, big things grow. Without the little things, the seemingly insignificant jobs, the small contribution you think you are making, there wouldn’t be any big things to be amazed at.

We often overlook people who do the little things. We overlook the quiet ones, the introverted, the behind-the-scenes workers.

But God sees their worth, and he sees your worth, whether you are an out and out extrovert or a quiet soul, content to hide in obscurity.

We all have a place in God’s will and if we can find that place, and be content in that place, desiring only to obey him and follow his leading, we will find true joy and happiness.

The old saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. And it’s true. What may be beautiful to you may not be beautiful to another person. And you know what? It rings true with God too. God doesn’t have the same concept of beauty as we do. If a person and their calling is beautiful to God, then it is beautiful, no matter what the world thinks.

If God sees beauty in it, then it fits his concept of beauty and who are we to say any different?

We often think that the small things, the tiny creations, the quiet people, the little jobs are not important, but we are so wrong.

God knows and sees every minute detail. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He even sees the value of a tiny sparrow.

Luke 12:6 KJV - Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

Luke 12:7 KJV - But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29 KJV - Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

We read an interesting passage in the book of Zechariah.

Zechariah 4:10 KJV - For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

This is referring to the second temple being built, which in the eyes of some of the Jews, was despised because of it’s lack of grandeur. They had seen the former temple and were not very appreciative of the new one as it wasn’t as grand as the old one. We even read of weeping among the people because of its smallness.

Ezra 3:12-13 KJV - But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

I’m so glad that God doesn’t cast us aside when we accomplish small things. He knows that there can be power in seasons of small things. These are often times of growth and preparation for bigger things to come.

The Devil fears the small things, because he knows full well what great things God can do in them and bring out of them.

When we have a desire to simply put one foot in front of the other, serving where God has us, in the job he has us in, whether big or small, he will bless.

I teach a small Ladies Bible Study, and I write a blog with very few followers, and although I have a passion for women’s ministry and I long to share with a larger audience what God teaches me through his Word, in order that more women will be encouraged in their walk with Christ, he has seen fit to keep my field of influence small. He has chosen to place me in a position where size doesn’t matter. He wants me to be content with the small things. The small beginnings.

In the words of a song, “I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, all about somebody, who saved my soul!” 

I’m just a tiny flower in a world of overgrown lawns. A little, insignificant bloom on the ground beneath a bed of colourful roses.

But, as long as I trust the Lord and let him lead the way, lying content in his will and in his care, I don’t have to be concerned about the world’s view of me. If God sees beauty in me and my calling, then that is all that matters. He sees grandeur in small things.

Not everyone is called to be a brilliant Flame tree or a golden Cootamundra Wattle. Some are simply called to be tiny splashes of colour in a patch of grass. Ready and waiting for the Lord’s timing, when he reaches down and gently takes us from where we are and adds us to a beautiful bouquet to be used in his service.

So, when you take time out to stop and smell the roses, don’t forget to take notice of the tiny flowers too. Make the choice to purposefully look out for the little things. Be intentional in seeing the beauty in the small things.

Small things are important to God. There is beauty in the little details.

You’re worth doesn’t lie in how ‘big’ you are, it lies in who you are in Christ and how he sees you. You may feel like a minute, broken, colourless flower, but God sees you as a magnificent rose in full bloom. He sees right past your brokenness. He sees a new creation. A redeemed child of God. Chosen, loved, forgiven, and precious in his sight.

You were created in God’s image. You were created for a unique purpose.

You are who God says you are!