The Little Things

      That simple question touched my heart one day. With some of my friends, that question is hardly asked (I guess we used that question too much in the beginning and it must've wore off or something)- and I hardly ask them, either. It's just something we don't really do. So when another friend of mine asks, "How are you doing today?" I'm kind of caught off balance. I was like, what? You want to know how I'm doing? It was strange to think someone actually cared how I was doing (not that my other friends didn't). That friend might've only been trying to be polite, but to me it meant something bigger. At that moment, I was going through self-doubt, which I talked about in a previous post. I was struggling with knowing who I was and who defined me. Some days I felt like a nobody. I thought no one really cared enough to even say hello. So when my friend asks me how I'm doing, my heart lifts.

   Now, this post isn't about always remembering your manners and asking people how they are- although that is nice. I want to encourage you to do the little things as well as the big things. This seems kind of weird at first. How are we supposed to make a difference if we don't do something huge and important? Well, maybe with little things we can't exactly change the entire world, but we can maybe change one person. Although we don't change people. God does. When you're reading my blog, it's the Holy Spirit that's speaking to you in ways I can't. Yes, I type up these words you're reading now, but the Holy Spirit guides me in what I say.  But doing small, thoughtful things is a good way to start.

   And we don't know what others are going through. We don't know their hearts. Things we may think are small and meaningless to us may be the world to the person we do it for. What you do for someone, even something small, could be just the thing they were waiting for! It could be the thing they needed right at that moment. You may not know what the impact on that person is, but God does, and He's watching over them.

   I gave anonymous letters to my teammates this past volleyball season (I call them LifeLetters, because our pastor was encouraging us to speak LIFE over each other), and though a letter seemed so small to even me- I had some doubts at the beginning- the results were encouraging. Because I had listened to the Holy Spirit's instruction, many people were blessed through it. I could see the difference in their faces and in what they said to me, and it brought on opportunities to talk about Christ and give Him the glory. I didn't know what they were going through, but the Holy Spirit did, and He told me what to write. So at least speak life to someone! And what I mean in speaking life is just encouraging someone, lifting them up, and reminding them who they are. It's the positive things, not the negative things.

   Because God uses little things as well as big things! We are, in fact, little compared to who GOD is. Have you ever had someone do something for you that meant a whole lot? God can certainly use anything, right? He used little David to defeat giant Goliath! God's power was in him. And God's power lives in you. Just think- the power that raised Jesus from the dead is within you! And because God can use little things like simple letters, He can certainly use you! 

   Next time you hear the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something that seems small, like doing chores, don't brush Him away. God could use that in a mighty way. He could use anything in a big way. He might use you to shine a light in someone else's life, or to bless someone. I don't know! But we needa take that chance, don't we? 

   So go, and shine that light. I love you all and I'm praying for you.