It’s so often the little things that count the most.
A smile at just the right time.
A squeeze of the hand.
A word in due season.
The look in a loved one’s eyes.
A surprise visit or gift.
We value what brings unexpected, unanticipated pleasure, joy and delight.
It’s all the more special for being a surprise.
Or even an everyday occurrence coming into sharper focus for us as we view it anew.
Yet we so often go through our days unheeding the tiny glimmers of grace which God has strewn along our way.
When our eyes are open to the world around us, we can live with a deeper sense of gratitude and praise for all that our Creator God has lovingly fashioned and made.
‘Little things’
Despise not the little things
dew-dappled leaves, hen’s eggs and sparrow’s wings
cumulus cloud now spread thin as entrailed cotton wisps
with no discernible hint of moisture within
Golden patch of sun, scent of rain, a new day begun
as earth shifts into motion once again
with rooster crowing bringing breakfast to mind,
for creatures of every kind clamour to be fed
and given swift their daily bread
Cooling breeze on our extremities as seasons
morph their mosaic coloured hand
upon this ever-changing land
Such things may not amount to much
in mind or eye for you and I
though God keeps careful count
And if we do take note with eyes wide open
to the daily grind we find expectation rise
and cease doing things so much by rote
as we pause afresh in wonder, marvelling
at God’s hand in all we’d cast asunder
when with averted, unconcerned gaze
going blithely dulled, ignorant and unaware
about our moments, hours and days
of all the beauty that little things can bring
to all our thoughts and ways
©JoyLenton2013
Poetry Joy 
Dear Joy
What I have found in suffering, dear friend, is that I look with different eyes at all the beauty around me that I have taken for granted before. Just yesterday I was filled with wonder when I saw the most beautiful cumulus clouds. And today we had much needed rain!
Blessings XX
Mia
Dear Mia, I can so relate to what you say! On the rare times I am well enough to leave the house I want to capture it all, drink everything in with my eyes and point a camera at it too. Clouds have always delighted and fascinated me from childhood. Our interest in and perception of the world around us is heightened by missing much of it due to health problems. I’m glad you had the rain you needed. We see rather too much of it here! Blessings xx
Joy – your words are a soothing balm to the soul. I’ve been thinking about the little things, small gifts, kind words… Things that are but for a moment, but the memory of them lasts a lifetime. Blessings!
It does lift our spirits to bring to remembrance the seemingly insignificant things which lighten and brighten our days. I’m pleased to have encouraged you in that process, Joan. Blessings Xx
When we are too fast to enjoy slow things, too rushed to pause to smell the flowers, too important to value the contributions of each person, too big to notice small miracles, too old to appreciate the fresh ideas and enthusiasm of the young, or too young to value the dignity and wisdom of the aged, well…we just miss out, that’s all. We are, whether we ever realize it or not, the poorer for it. “There is none so blind as he who will not see.” I especially enjoyed the phrase you used to encapsulate this great truth: “ And if we do take note with eyes wide open to the daily grind, we find expectation rise, and cease doing things so much by rote, as we pause afresh in wonder, marvelling at God’s hand in all we’d cast asunder.” The good news is that we CAN change. You really CAN teach an old dog new tricks! And sometimes, when we can’t see the need, or simply refuse to change, God helps us with it. It may pass for reversal, decline, or set-back, but sometimes it’s just “help” in disguise. Well handled, Joy; you’ve reminded us all of what we may be missing, or maybe of the need to tell God “thank You” for the things we are actually now enjoying, thanks to His roundabout interventions!
Neil, you have enlarged and improved upon my thoughts with your lovely comment! We certainly are “the poorer for it” when we fail to have eyes open to the goodness and grace all around us. Yes, change is possible. And I can vouch that being taken out of the ‘daily grind’ by default has made me appreciate those things I used to take for granted before. It’s every bit as important to thank God for what we “are actually now enjoying, thanks to His roundabout interventions” as it is to be reminded of all “we may be missing” if we fail to be alert and aware. Well said, my friend. I love your responses here! Blessings.
Oh yes. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. I read recently that we all need a child’s view on the world and I watched my six year old the other day fascinated by acorns and I realised that I rush past so much… thank you, Joy. I think that the small things are not the small things at all.
Our inner child needs to be released sometimes, doesn’t it? We can so easily lose the sense of awe and wonder of creation and life in general. Watching how children see things is a great way to ‘see’ with their eyes too. I hope to repeat that with my future grandchildren. Enjoy it while you can, Helen! Blessings Xx
Loved it Joy. So much is missed, or can be. I love noticing all the little things.
Thanks, Anne! Your delight in observing the important “little things” is very apparent in the way you relate family experiences. You’re a natural raconteur and storyteller who relates life stories with the eye of a writer and voice of a loving mother/grandma. That’s what makes your tales so heartwarming and real. I’m always blessed by reading them.
Wow thanks, Joy.
Guess what, my book is going to be a reality. I’m daring to get excited. The image for the cover is even coming together. Pray that it moves forward and that I trust the timing. You taught me a new word. raconteur.
Anne, you have every right to get excited; I’m excited for you too! Birthing a book is a labour of love (I imagine – not there yet) and as such your heart and soul are poured into it. I will continue to pray for you and hope to read it soon! Glad you like the new word 🙂 x