My husband owns and manages a fastener business. We sell nuts, bolts and screws. Not very glamorous, right? Certainly not very significant…until you try to put something together.Look around you. Table and chairs, cabinets, car doors, clocks, light fixtures, plumbing, beds, sun glasses and TVs all require fasteners. They aren’t obvious and often our customers forget to order them until the last minute…but they can’t do the job without them.
Sometimes we forget about the little things in life, just like contractors forget about their bolts. We forget to say please and thank you. We forget to smile at strangers passing on the street. We forget to taste the eggs or smell the coffee.
The little things matter. When we don’t stop to talk with a neighbor, who knows the opportunity we may have missed? Our last words as we leave the house could be our last ever, make them count. The choice of what we listen to on the way to work sets the tone for our day.
I recently told a store clerk she had really pretty eyes. Instead of smiling, her lovely eyes filled with tears. She said, “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since someone complimented me…or even noticed me.” Many people feel invisible…are they in focus to you? Are you seeing them and tuning in to interact or just having a one-sided, necessary encounter?
There is an old saying, “The Devil’s in the details.” I’d counter that and say God is in the details. He wants us to be in the moment, not just going through the motions. He wants our attention sharply focused on people and things in our midst.
Small words pack a big punch: hate, ugly, NOW!, idiot, fat, lazy, not now… We can choose to say nothing or replace those words with little words that encourage, like: love, thanks, pretty, I’ll wait and how-can-I-help?…
Just as little bolts hold things together, there are infinite tiny details that define and bond together the infrastructure of our lives. Each day, each choice, each touch matters. Our great big, wonderful God is aware of every tiny hair on our heads. If the little things matter so much to Him, shouldn’t we be paying attention too?
