In the Small Things

My office window does not afford much of a view.

From it I can see the parking lot.

I can also see one of several mountain laurel trees.

This is the time of year when these trees come into full bloom.

Clusters of purple flowers drape from them.

Their perfume fills the air with a lovely and sweet fragrance.

I was seated at my desk the other day thinking about all the things I needed to do.

I was also thinking about how the community where I work recently made the news.

The news was not good and at the time it seemed there was no resolution in sight.

As I was about to begin my next task I decided to take a quick look out the window.

There, the mountain laurel tree swayed in the breeze.

Its blossoms seemed to dance in the sunlight.

As I looked closer, I saw something else.

The tree was filled with butterflies and bees.

Every single one of them were busy taking advantage of God’s provision for them.

Each went about his task.

Each was tolerant of all the others; even the ones different from itself.

This brought to mind a passage of scripture.

Matthew 6:26-31 (NET) - Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

The blossoms outside my window will not last very long.

They will soon wither and drop from their branches like rain.

When they do, the butterflies and the bees will not starve.

They will simply move on to the next source of provision granted to them by God.

All this reminded me that the tasks I still had to perform were part of God’s provision for me.

It also meant that it was time to turn away from the window and turn back to them.

I was even able to put the bad headlines out of my mind and any worry they caused me to harbor.

We teach children that God is everywhere, and He is.

He can even be found in the small and delicate just outside the window.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 6, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, April 13, 2018