Big Little Things

John Lennon once said that "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." I didn't plan to get sick this week, but, hey, life happens! I also realized (while I was lying on the couch, trying to breathe and not to cough) that the little things that get forgotten in our planning and in our busyness are really the biggest things of all that go into making a life. Shauna Niequist, in her book Cold Tangerines, challenges all of us to consider that we just may have been waiting for life to begin (once I graduate from high school or college or seminary, once I step into the career I've dreamed of or into the arms of, you know, him or her, or once we have children or that new home ...) and we're missing the best life ever. It's happening, but we just don't realize how good it is. Cold tangerines are one of the big little things for Shauna Niequist. A rediscovered big little thing for me? Grape popsicles. And, once the list started in my head, I couldn't believe how many treasures I'd forgotten!

• Laughing with a friend so hard that one of you snorts
• the smell of fresh peaches in the summer
• the luxury of curling up with a book on a rainy day
• the sound of waves crashing against the shore
• the feel of the sun on your shoulders and the wind in your hair
• the taste and cool comfort of a grape popsicle (or a push-up!)
• the feel of walking barefoot through the grass
• or, how 'bout letting mud squish between your toes!
• the intoxicating warmth of holding hands with someone you love
• the sound of a kid's belly laugh
• the intimacy of bread broken with friends
• what happens in your head and your heart when THAT song comes on the radio

See, the list goes on and on. I'm still working on mine and I'd LOVE to hear some of your Big Little Things. This is another one ... just watch and I'll bet you can remember the last time you did this! Go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNy9jTeolUk

Better yet, stop what you're doing and savor one of those little things. Not just as a memory, but as a now moment. Hold your baby's hand, walk through the lawn barefooted, invite a friend over (or out) for dinner, share a laugh together with someone special ... go ahead and snort. What we find is that we're sharing life. Life will never be buried underneath the list of things to be done and life will never be better once we're done with those things. Life IS those things ... and what we make of them and who we do them with or for as we go along this journey.

Jesus' promise to us is that in His coming to us, to be with us and just like us, we could know the abundance in life that God intended for all of creation. Abundance isn't a quantity issue as much as it's a quality issue. And, grape popsicles or a trip through the sprinkler or holding hands with someone you love is as rich as it gets. My guess is that if you'll work on a list of the Big Little Things in your life, you'll discover just how rich you are!