“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Yesterday, I was hiking in the morning with Patty up at Top of the World. We’ve been doing our Camino preparation hikes several times a week and it has become such a gift to add that rhythm to our week. It has helped us to savor our lives at that 3 mph pace.
And as we were walking, Patty suddenly exclaimed, “oh my gosh, would you look at that!” But I couldn’t see anything. Nothing unusual at least. I kept walking forward, trying to glimpse what she was seeing, when she suddenly shouted, “Stop!” And as I looked down, right where my foot was about to step, I noticed a tiny little snail. And then behind him, this trail of mucus going all the way to the other side. And here he was, just inches from his destination. I bet he’d been at it for hours.
He’d gone about eight feet and I could see all the fresh mountain bike treads that crisscrossed his slippery, shiny path. What an incredible journey! And to think, I had almost literally crushed his hope right at the finish line!
I bent over and picked him up and set him down on the other side, just out of harm’s way. And then I looked back on where he’d come and the exhaustingly slow pace at which he moved. I couldn’t fathom moving at such a slow speed. I think I’d go out of my mind.
I wonder if, in some ways, this is how God sees us. This short little life of ours on earth. This desperate journey we’re all on. So precarious in so many ways. And how helpless we are. We simply move too slow. We are unable to do very much to protect ourselves.
And life can take a tremendous amount of effort. Lugging this shell along with us. Enduring the trials and challenges and dangers. Navigating life at what feels like a snail’s pace.
Jesus talks about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. How he cares about each one of them. Notices them. Clothes them. Delights in them. And then there is us. And Jesus asks, are you not much more valuable than they?
This is the gentleness with which God sees us. His little lambs. His flighty birds. He calls the quivering Gideon his “mighty warrior.” He notices the immense generosity of the widow’s mite. He is not drawn to grandeur and posturing. Instead, He notices the small acts and beams with pride.
As I set him down, out of harm's way, I felt that subtle shift of perspective. How my life is not measured by comparison to others, but simply in my showing up, pressing forward, not giving up. To crawl forward in faith and trust. To rest in the fact that I’m seen, delighted in, and even protected in ways I cannot fathom.
Mother Teresa once said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” And maybe that is enough. To be both small and brave. Small things with great, great love.
I sure love you guys!
Jeff