It's the Little Things that Matter Most

As I write this, I am watching my two dogs play on the floor, romping and rolling over each other, I have a cup of coffee next to me and a fire in the fireplace.  I can feel the richness of the blessings in my life.  I have to say that I am more content here in this time and place than I would be anywhere else.  "How can that be" you're thinking, "are you telling me you would rather be at home than traveling the world staying in five star accommodations?"  Yep, that is exactly what I am telling you, and here is why-I have learned that it is the smallest of blessings that matter most in life.

Through my years as a social worker, and especially in my time working with people near the end of life, I have learned that it is the tiniest things that carry the biggest impact.  When you listen to someone who is coming to terms with dying, you hear stories of time spent with family and friends, you hear of special days, and memories of parents.  I have yet to have a dying person tell me what the political climate was the year they got married, but just about every person will tell you about how they felt, what they wore and how in love they were. 

When we look back on our lives, we don't think about that Saturday that we were so angry with our friend for not calling us back, or the fact that we missed some sale.  We remember sitting outside with families on a warm summer evening, sharing stories.  We recall small individual conversations, that in the moment did not seem significant.  We remember and dwell on the good times, the times we were sad and were lifted up by family or friends.  

It is the smell of a newborn baby or laundry on the line that we remember.  We are comforted by the scent of bread baking, or cookies coming from the oven.  We find that our hearts are lifted when we watch puppies play, children laughing or birds singing.  The beauty of flowers, trees and nature overwhelm us.  It is not the expensive trips or lavish accommodations that make the deepest impressions on us, it is the scenery, the view of nature.  It reminds us that we are small in comparison, that our God is big and great and wonderful.

One cannot stand on the top of a mountain or at the shore of the sea and not feel small.  We cannot gaze at the stars and not realize how great our God is.  It is the small details of creation that make us feel blessed.  Who among us has not watched a loved one suffer an illness and given thanks that our bodies are working correctly?  How many of us have watched someone we love lose someone close to them and felt the overwhelming gratitude that we could go home and hug our spouse, our children or our parents?

It is often the quiet moments that I am able to hear God speaking to my heart, my soul.  It is when I take time to notice and appreciate the small blessings in life that I realize it is exactly these moments that are what life is all about.  Don't get me wrong, the fact that we are surrounded by large blessings and great miracles every day is wonderful and awe inspiring to me; but when we look back, when we recall the moments that made our lives what they are, it is the small details, the names and the faces that we will recall.  We will remember the feelings aroused by certain smells, the sense of comfort and security of being held in our spouses arms.  We will remember the overwhelming joy of seeing our children do all their first-first step, first day of school, first love, and even their first child.  

We must learn to appreciate these moments, they pass so quickly.  If we stop and take notice of them while they are happening, we will be more content, more able to see the blessings in our lives.  We will naturally focus less on the inconveniences of life.  We will understand that what is important is happening every single moment, and we only need to stop and take it in.

We must learn to observe and appreciate the small things, then we need to teach our children to do the same.  We have a responsibility to teach our children that it is not the material possessions that make us rich, but rather the moments and people God has blessed us with.  Only then, can our children know true contentment and eventually true joy.