The Secret Power of Small Things
There is a tiny little post office tucked away in Western North Carolina that was famously known as the “smallest post office in the USA.”
Even though it’s literally a small wooden shed, it gets hundreds of visitors every year, including me almost every summer. Its Americana cuteness never gets old, and there is something wonderful about its humble history.
It would be easy to discount this tiny post office shed as insignificant. As I look over my own life, I realize that so many of the ordinary, mundane things have that same “small brown shed” quality, too.
I’m talking about laundry, paying the bills, making dinner, going to the gym, or reading my Bible when it would be easier to watch the next episode of my favorite show. If I’m honest, sometimes I wonder if these things really matter.
But when I look a little deeper, I’m realizing that the small things are often where the good stuff happens.
Everyday choices are deposits into the kind of person we are becoming. And when those little things are compounded over time, they have the power to point to something so much bigger.
When I do the laundry, I can choose to be irritated by the chore, or I can pause and be grateful for clean clothes. I can even use the folding time to pray over my family.
When I pay the bills, I can feel put upon, or I can be reminded of the privilege of stewarding what God has given me. When I understand the bigger financial picture, I can also see opportunities to be generous.
When I go to the gym, I can grumble about being out of shape, or I can care for the body God has given me. And when I choose to show up, I not only feel better physically, but I get to enjoy the encouragement and fellowship of a community.
When I read my Bible, I can set my heart and mind on Truth rather than letting the noise of the world set my agenda. I can shift my focus away from anxiety, materialism, and productivity and toward what matters eternally. It reminds me that this world is not my home and helps keep my striving heart aligned with God’s plans for me and my day.
Mother Teresa famously said, “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
When you consider the impact Mother Teresa had on the world, it’s striking to realize how much of her life was made up of small things.
Feeding. Praying. Listening. Caring for people.
She was present to whoever and whatever was in front of her, looking for opportunities to care for the people in her midst.
The extraordinary impact of her life was built through ordinary acts of faithfulness.
Don’t get me wrong. I love big dreams and big plans, too. I dream of writing a fiction novel while staring at a shimmering lake from the porch of an old Victorian house. I dream of traveling old-school on the Orient Express, waking up in a different city every day.
Big dreams have their place. So do once-in-a-lifetime adventures. But I’m beginning to see that when we are faithful with the ordinary little things, the big things have a way of taking care of themselves.
Maybe a meaningful life isn’t built in the grand moments as much as we think.
Maybe it’s built in the laundry room.
At the kitchen table.
In the gym.
In the quiet chair where we open our Bibles.
In all those seemingly insignificant moments when we choose gratitude over grumbling, stewardship over entitlement, discipline over comfort, and faith over fear.
What about you? What are the little things you do faithfully every day that don’t seem like much, but over time contribute to a life built on goodness?
