We were taking a walk with our little dog after a storm.  As we walked, I began to notice a number of small-to-medium-sized branches littering the ground.  On many of them were various lichens and other kinds of tree-borne plants.  At first, I just walked on by, unintentionally kicking one off to the side.  But then I began to realize that there were several kinds.  I bent over to get a closer look, and was surprised by the variety of these little, symbiotic plant forms that clung to the branches of the mighty oaks towering above us.  Rather than ignore or despise them, I began to be fascinated with them.

There were leafy ones kind of like mini-kale, some with what almost looked like the “jaws” of a fly-trap, and some that looked like almost like sickly orange jello.  Their variety was surprising, and their detail was even more amazing.  I picked up several samples and took them back to the house to photograph.  The closer I looked, the more intrigued I became.  These small things were as impressive as their huge hosts in their own way.

I had almost missed the amazing beauty of these small things because they were so unimpressive in size.  It reminded me of a verse out of the prophesy of Zechariah.  “Who despises the day of small things?”  (Zechariah 4:10)  With God, there are no small things.  He cares about sparrows (Matthew 10:29) and ravens (Job 38:41).  I think it’s no stretch that he cares about much smaller living things.  He also created the entire universe and named every star (Psalm 147:4).  What is the earth compared to that?  We’re so tiny in comparison, and yet he cares for each of us (Luke 12:24).

I am so encouraged by these thoughts.  If our Lord cares for birds and stars, and not one of them is forgotten, then we can be sure he has us in mind, too.  There are times when I feel like I’m so small and only one voice in a very noisy world.  But our God does not despise small things, and encourages us not to do so.  (See Proverbs 30:24-28 to see what God thinks of some other small things.)

This is all to say that when I start to feel forgotten, I remember the small things, and let God’s love for them encourage me.  And the more I look at the small things, the more amazed I am at God’s all-encompassing creativity.  Perhaps it is the small things that most clearly show how absolutely huge is God’s grace and love!

So, I’m starting to look at the little things around me a bit more.  I love mountains and towering mountain magnolia trees, but I also like the tiny flowers that begin to pop up in the spring and the amazing beauty of a single snowflake.

I am glad that our God is the God of Small Things.