The Little Things

It’s so funny how quickly our minds become impatient with routine tasks.  Life moves so fast, we feel like we don’t have time for the small but important things we need to do to make sure things are maintained so they run efficiently.  Instead, we want instant gratification.  We want to skip straight to the reward without putting in the hard, sometimes tedious work it takes to earn it.

I have been participating in a Bible study that requires a lot of homework. I use the Bible app on my phone most of the time, but this study asked us to mark passages and write notes in the book, so I dusted off my old study Bible. Technology is great, but I had become used to the app doing my work for me.  Tap on the verse in the menu on the screen, and receive instant gratification!  When I switched back to my paper Bible,  it took me longer than I liked to find things. My enjoyment of the Bible study became tainted by my frustration with the task of flipping through my Bible to find the many short verses I had to read to complete the homework.

I remembered that I had always meant to put index tabs in my Bible to help me look up verses quicker, but never made the time to do it. It was time. I bought the tabs and sat down to install them.  It was a lot more complicated than I had anticipated.  I had to measure and cut a template before I could even begin.  Sigh.  I found a ruler, measured and cut carefully, and read the next step.  It was highly recommended I practice placing a tab on a plain sheet of paper before beginning.  Sigh.  I found the practice tab and tried placing it on the edge of the paper.  I’m glad I did, because it was not as easy as it looked!  Next, I began placing the tabs in my Bible.  Bible paper is very thin, my hands are so clumsy, and there are so many books!  This was going to take much longer than I thought. SIGH.

As I dug into the task, my eyes were drawn to words on the page and I began to read a few words from the beginning of each book before I placed a tab. I was forced by the task to move through the Bible methodically, book by book.  After a while, I started to forget how tedious my task felt.  My mind became engaged. My work became a meditation.  I was reminded that the Bible is more than a book; more than a tool; more than a collection of fables.  My heart swelled as I read with renewed vision the beautiful, life-giving words from God’s love story for His people.  I fell in love with the word of God again.

Life is made up of many small tasks woven together to make a beautiful story. Each life story is unique and beautiful, crafted by God’s skilled hands.  As tempting as it is to try to skip ahead in the story, live each moment fully.  Each task has a purpose and prepares us for what is to come.  Engage in your life story.  Perform each task to the best of your ability and look for the beauty among the pages.