I try to pay attention to the leaves every day in spring and fall.  If I don’t, the trees will be either in full bloom or bare, and I’ll have missed the progression.  Little things become large things over time.

Much of life is the same.  Progress is most often incremental and easy to miss.  If you don’t make an attempt to notice small changes, you’ll miss the progression, the journey.  That’s what life is- a journey. And we are mistaken to think we’ll be happy at a destination. We must learn to take joy in the journey if we are to find any fulfillment at all.

Life is composed of mundane events.  There is a mind-numbing repetition to our days that can breed frustration…if we let it.  Then again, perhaps our lives can be melodious, even miraculous, if we learn to appreciate the ordinary things.  Little things become large things over time.

Few people have earth-shattering events bring their lives into full-bloom.  Most people bloom gradually. And many people have quite remarkable stories to tell- if anyone cared to listen.  So it is that we miss the journeys of others and ourselves.

Though I try to respect folks and their abilities, I have often overlooked worthwhile individuals in my zeal for the next big thing.  Personal attainments in life are greatly determined by point of origin. Maybe, there are more miracles than we think.

If we took time to notice each day and appreciate the small steps and sacrifices, we might be more satisfied, perhaps even amazed.  Most of us have some experience with disappointments in great plans. If we’d only learned to be content, we could have been happy in the doing, not the done.

Jesus made it clear that He had different plans for different lives.  It may be hard for us to accept that the life we hope for may not be the life lived in God’s will, but that is often the case.  Since God is really in control, you and I are instructed not to judge but to support one another in prayer and presence. We are not masters- we have a Master.  Comparison between compatriots is not wise because we all had different beginnings. If we are living for Christ, our progress is planned and awaiting fulfillment in due time.

A great mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven is the way in which it grows almost undetected.  God is working a great work in us though it may seem small by degree with long delay. We weren’t meant to understand the secret things that belong to God alone.  What we are to do is watch daily and take note of God’s movement in the small things.

When the years have flown and there’s more reflecting than reacting, we may understand more about the grand scheme.  Until then, we wonder at the moving hand of God and are amazed.

Sterl