Coming to Covenant has reignited my interest in tiny critters, particularly insects. I would go look around at night to find moths flying around in the Mills stairwell and around the chapel building. I was always fascinated by them, but never got the chance to find any in the dense urban city that is Jakarta, where I’m from in Indonesia. This felt like the first opportunity I’ve had to witness how beautiful God’s creation is in all its glory, but it also brought me to introspection. How come I’ve only started to appreciate creation now? Has everything around me for every day that I’ve lived not come from God?
As you might have learned, or at least heard from the Christian Mind course, we are called to
be stewards, image-bearers, and co-creators of God. When He created the world, He called it good and delighted in it. But are we delighting, appreciating, and in wonder of the world around us? The whole world takes notice of the major achievements in architecture like the Eiffel Tower or the natural beauty of the Niagara Falls, but often fails to notice the unique design of leaves or the intricacy of the eyes of a dragonfly. Of course it is good to appreciate and be in awe of the grander creation, but what I mean is that we also need to keep an eye out for wonder in the overlooked.
The Lord of The Rings brings up the same theme, where the Hobbits that are seemingly insignificant in a world where strength and power sit on thrones, become the most important part of it all. It is identical to God’s message that no matter how big, how small, or who you are, there is a place and part for you to play. It ought to be a mindset that we employ. I profess that I myself have only recently come to understand this and continue to struggle to keep this perspective. It is definitely something that our minds aren’t used to. We are constantly tempted in every area of life to only look at the major and not the minor.
A practical step I found useful was to just take a second to stop and look around; what can you see? The streak of dirt on the wall, the uneven patches of grass, the grey moth on the pillar, similar to mindfulness — being completely aware of our surroundings. Also try to find something interesting about everything by constantly asking questions: “Where might that crow be headed?” or “How might the coloration of this bug allow it to camouflage?”
The same mindset should be applied as it relates to our relationship with Christ. Whenever I prayed (if I remembered to at all), I only ever thanked God for the good things that happened to me that day or week, or when the food was good at dinner. I never had time to thank Him for anything else because I was really sleepy and there was no way I’d want to ruin my sleep schedule, right?
We often get too distracted with our big projects, long essays, the 11:59pm deadline for that one forgotten assignment, and in the business of our daily lives that we’ve neglected to care about the small things. We couldn’t care enough to thank Him for the blessing that is our loved ones back home, our friends both here and far away, our privilege of being here at all, and even the fact that we are alive at this moment.
I encourage you, dear reader, (if you haven’t already) to look at the small things and give thanks for the littlest of deeds and blessings. Maybe it could be talking with a friend you rarely meet, getting your homework done early, or even the white-and-orange moth that landed on your finger today. For everything is from God, created good and for a purpose.