Monday, July 18, 2011

Becoming Smaller

Good morning! We are back home now after traveling 4600 miles! Whew - busy and fun time! We'll be going on one more short trip this week to take Rachel to Disney World for her 5th birthday!

While we are unpacking and repacking and traveling - I've written several posts about my traditional visit to Glen Eyrie that I try to plan in while I'm in Colorado. I've been itching to process some of the thoughts that began weeks ago and sort of culminated that day - so, here goes!

The call is there to come away and spend time with Him. Even as I walk up this very path, I feel that I am stepping away with Him - I want to reach out and take His hand and have Him lead me.

* * * *

Over the past weeks and even couple of months - I've been feeling a draw to becoming smaller. Making life smaller. I had a few thoughts about what I thought God wanted me to learn about that - but needed to study His Word, pray and listen for more.

I began my retreat by looking up verses that used the word small.

2 Kings 4:10, "Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us."

The Shunammite woman and her husband made this room available for Elisha. And, I loved this picture - she created a simple and small room. She was well off and lists very simply what was to go into the room: a bed, table, chair and lamp.

This room was a blessing to Elisha and he asks God for something big for her: a son. She lives faithful in the small and God does the big.

Why do I think I have to do the big things - what God is impressing on me is to be faithful in the small and let Him do the big in and through and around me.

Proverbs 30:24-28, "Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer, coneys are creatures of little power yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces."

Ant: little strength; stores food in the summer; prepared and hard working

Coney (badger): little power; make homes in the rocks/crags; ingenuity; show creativity in using their small power to still build homes for themselves; overcoming

Locust: no leadership, no authority, yet they work together to accomplish their goal - they advance together even without a leader. Team players not out for the glory or power. Footnote suggests they also teach us about order.

Lizard: can be easily caught with just hands; found in king's palaces - no respecter of where they go, sometimes elevated in decorating styles in palaces.

* * * *

Today, I am small - I'm on a big property next to a Castle where people don't recognize me even though this place is sweetly familiar to me.

To be continued tomorrow ....

3 comments:

*carrie* said...

Welcome home! This makes me think of my favorite Mother Teresa quote: "Ne faithful in the little things, for in them your strength lies."

~katie~ said...

Thankful you are home safe and had a great time! =) Love your new profile photo(s)!

This is a great post...and reminds me of a song that goes something like...
"I want to be faitful,
I want to be true.
I want to be faithful,
in all that I do!"

Our pastor always used to say to include the Lord in all the small decisions of life and then the big ones won't seem so big! =) I agree with your sentiments...less of me and more (ALL) of Him!!

Blessings to you and your family,
Katie

Lee said...

Thanks so much for sharing. sounds like your life is busy, busy. But also sounds like God is doing "big things" in a "small package." Awesome!