A blog where women are inspired and encouraged to grow in their relationship with Christ.

Monday, June 10, 2013

When Big and Little Get All Mixed Up




I'm sure you've heard the saying, “Making a mountain out of a molehill".  It’s when we make a big deal out of the small and inconsequential.  It’s when we take something that’s relatively unimportant and make something extremely important out of it.

Like...

When a friend walks past you in the store without stopping to talk. Did I do something to offend her?  What’s her problem, anyway?  (In reality, perhaps she was just temporarily zoned out... lost in thought, and walked past you without even seeing you.)  I’m sure I’ve done that!

When you go off your diet for a weekend (OK, it was four five days), and you feel totally defeated. You'll never lose that weight. Why even try?   
Where’s that bag of chips?

When your child spills a cup of juice on your just-washed kitchen floor.  And you explode. And then you feel like the worst mom 
in the whole world.  {And your poor child 
will probably need years of therapy!}

We waste so much time, attention, and emotion on things that just don't matter.  
And, isn't that just the game that satan likes to play?!
If he can keep us worrying over that which God will take care of, he's thrilled.
If he can keep us angry and focused on a perceived wrong, he's ecstatic.
It's so important for us to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our faulty thinking.  
We really need to stop making the little so B.I.G!

For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him,
but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:23

Now, have you ever heard the saying, “Making a molehill out of a mountain”?  NO?  Neither have I.  So, I get to write the definition! :)  It’s when we make something really important into something unimportant. It’s when we make a small deal out of something big and of great consequence.

Like...

When you don’t get a chance to take a shower (for days) because you’re busy nursing (literally) your sick baby.

When your teenager spills the orange juice all over your just-washed kitchen floor and you don’t explode.  You simply ask them to clean up the mess, and go on.

When you take a few extra minutes to listen to the woman in Wal-Mart tell you about her pending foreclosure.

When you patiently listen to your husband talk about the problems at work... again.

I was at an event several weeks ago and introduced myself to a group of ladies.  As I went around the table I shook each woman’s hand and enjoyed a brief conversation with each one.  Later that evening one of the just-met ladies came up to me and thanked me for not quickly dropping her hand when I shook it.  At first, I didn’t know what she was referring to.   

Then I remembered that she had a severely misshapen hand that I had continued to gently hold as I talked with her.  Quite honestly, I didn’t think anything of it.  It was a little thing to me. But not to her.  To her, it meant that I wasn’t repulsed by her different-than-mine hand.  To me, it was a molehill.  To her, it was a mountain.

I think most of our days are made of what we would term, inconsequential, unimportant, boring, little... molehills. But God doesn't see what we see. What we call a molehill, He sees as a mountain. Each time we do the 'little', He sees the big in it.  

He sees you showing kindness to a stranger.
He sees you sacrifice a shower to feed your baby.
He sees you going to work every day to a job that you don't like.
He sees you raising the next generation to love and worship Him.
He sees you opening your Bible when you just want to go to bed.
He sees you being quiet when you want to argue with your husband.
He sees that you drop everything to listen when your teenager decides to talk.
He sees you sitting on the floor with your grandchild, just hoping that you'll be able to get 
back up. :)
Yes, He sees the BIG in the little!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and
not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from
 the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."   
Colossians 3:23,24

Are you making mountains out of molehills?  
What things are you making bigger than they need to be?
Are you making molehills out of mountains?
What seemingly insignificant thing have you done 
lately that you didn't see as a big deal... 
But God saw the BIG in the little?
I'd love to hear from you!
Leave a comment!
 Living in His grace,
  Mary  
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46 comments:

  1. I love this! And I totally needed this reminder today...due to a mishap with a pair of headphones and the vacuum. Thanks for the great and practical reminders.

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    1. Amelia, I'm glad it helped! I can hardly stand not knowing the story behind the headphones and the vacuum! :)
      Blessings to you, my friend ~ Mary

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  2. wow..what a powerful beuatiful post. Thank you for the sweet reminder! i love your writing!

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    1. Jenn, thank you for your kind words of encouragement. God is so good to remind us that our ways aren't His ways. Where we see little, He sees big! :)
      I'm so glad you came by!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  3. Dear Mary
    In my home language we have a saying that roughly translated means that you shouldn't go an seek the baboon behind the mountain! It means the same as the molehill saying. We should always try to see things from the other person's perspective. Then we quickly realize that we might be very wrong in our thinking about why people do the things they do.
    Much love XX
    Mia

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    1. Mia, thanks so much for sharing "You shouldn't go and seek the baboon behind the mountain" saying! This made me smile... There are so many wonderful ways to say the same thing! And your right. It's so easy to 'misread' someone and make the moment bigger than is should be.
      I so appreciate your visits. You're a treasure!
      Blessings and much love ~ Mary

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  4. He sees the BIG in the LIttle-- perfect words to start another day of laundry and carpooling here! Thanks, Mary.

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    1. I'm with you Alicia. Today's all about the seemingly 'mundane', and yet God doesn't view it as mundane. He sees our hearts and attitudes and recognizes BIG when He sees it!
      Thanks for coming by!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  5. I am so encouraged to read this today. Thank you

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    1. Melissa, I'm so glad this touched your day!
      Thank you so much for visiting!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  6. Your words are a cool glass of water on a hot day! Thank you for making my spirits soar on this day!

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    1. Grace, you're always so encouraging!
      Your comments are a cool glass of water on a hot day... for me!
      Blessing and love, my friend ~ Mary

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  7. I wish I could explain how much I needed to read this at this very exact moment when I am feeling the shadow of a mountain creeping over me. Thank you!

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    1. Beckey, I'm grateful that God places before us that which we need most.
      I'm praying right now about that darn shadow creeping over you!
      Blessings and love ~ Mary

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  8. So true, I think this is so true of husband and wife. A man is usually pretty literal what he says he means but when it comes to a woman we are always reading more into what they just said and it makes a mountain out of a molehill.

    Yes, we do do this don't we?

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    1. Marlece, your comment made me laugh... It's so true! Earlier today my husband made a comment about the mess in my office. For him, it was just a passing comment... no judgement. {a molehill} I made a much bigger deal out of it than he had intended and took it as a personal affront. (a mountain!) I think I should re-read this post! :)
      Thanks so much for coming by!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  9. Such an encouragement to know that God is with us in the big and the little things...and that we can move on past the little things without turning them into big things. Thanks for the reminder!

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    1. Holly, God's so about seeing things as they really are... the way He sees them!
      Thanks for stopping by!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  10. That is wonderfully true. The "little" things we do are the fulfillment (or not) of Jesus's call to love one another. :)

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    1. Helene, Big or little, we must do all things for His glory... out of love!
      Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment!
      Blessings to you, my friend ~ Mary

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  11. Wow such an encouraging post! I am a new from southern charm! I would love for you to check out my blog and hopefully follow me back! Nicole

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    1. Welcome, Nicole! I'm so glad you dropped by and I look forward to visiting you!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  12. I love the line "He sees the BIG in the little." What an encouragement! :)

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    1. Thanks Jen! So much of what we do, we see as insignificant. But He knows our hearts, and can see the BIG in all the little!
      I'm enjoying your blog!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  13. Hi Mary,

    It's nice to be here again. Thanks for the reminders that these little choices matter, and that our God sees them. I think of it as worship to him: the times when I don't fight back, or the choices to respond in grace.

    Have a great week.
    Jennifer Dougan
    www.jenniferdougan.com

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    1. It's nice to have you here again! Every small piece, when done for love of Him, is worship.
      It's always nice hearing from you!
      Blessing, my friend ~ Mary

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  14. Oh yes, I've made many a mountain out of a molehill. And yes, it really is all, well almost all, a molehill! Great post. Thank you.

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    1. I'm so thankful that God generously gives us His perspective.
      Thanks so much for coming by!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  15. I just immersed myself in this post. I laughed about getting on the floor with your grandchild hoping that you can get up!! I change my granddaughters' (yes, that apostrophe ou belongs on the outside of that 's') diapers on the floor. I've heard that comment (the molehill one)over and over from my husband. I have learned so much from my children too. Thankfully I'm not hearing that comment anymore, so hopefully I am not making mountains out of little molehills anymore!!!!

    Thanks for linking up over at WholeHearted Home today!!

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    1. Judith, I've loved seeing the pics of your granddaughters! Yay you, that you're not making mountains out of molehills anymore! Sometimes it's just so hard to not overreact to life's 'events'!
      Blessings and love, my friend ~ Mary

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  16. I really enjoyed this post, probably because it is so true! Thanks for writing such a beautiful post. Like you said, sometimes you don't even realize when you touch other people's lives.

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    1. Betty, I'm sure we'd be so surprised at how much unrecognized influence we have (good and bad)!
      I'm so glad to have you here!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  17. Thanks for the reminder. Sometimes, we forget that HE is just as concerned about the small stuff. Life has a way of making us feel that HE isn't. However, the WORD reminds us that mustard seed (small) faith moves mountains (big)!

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    1. Oh, I'm so glad you mentioned mustard seed faith moving mountains! God is so good at taking the little and seeing the BIG!
      I'm so glad you came by!
      Blessings to you, my friend ~ Mary

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  18. Hi Mary, wow, I love this post! I love that saying right in the beginning that says it is we to whom things look little of big. Great point
    God bless
    Tracy

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    1. Tracy, I'm so glad you noticed that. It is we to whom things look little or big... God sees with such different eyes!
      Blessings to you, friend ~ Mary

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  19. Mary - this is another great post :) I love how God speaks through your words, and it never fails to make me get a little choked up :) Hope you're having a wonderful week!

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    1. April, you're such a great encourager! I'm so happy to have you here!
      Blessings to you, my friend ~ Mary

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  20. This is an excellent post. It is the little foxes that spoil the vines say the good book.

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    1. Hazel, yes it is the little foxes that do all that damage.
      Thank you for being here!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  21. Such a good reminder to avoid those emotions that take you down the wrong roads. And then you can't be there for someone else! I just did a blog post on 'worry'. Seems like all these negative emotions affect us all.
    So nice to be supported on the journey by your post. I sure will 'join' your blog! I look forward to hearing more from you!

    Peace in Christ,
    Ceil

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    1. Ceil, being led around by our emotions can certainly get us into trouble!
      It's so good to have you here. I look forward to visiting you!
      Blessing to you ~ Mary

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  22. Very inspiring post, Mary. Thanks for linking up to Thrive @ Home. Pinned this to our board! :)

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    1. Jenni, thanks so much for hosting T@T. You do a great job! And thank you for pinning WtoW to your board!
      Blessings to you ~ Mary

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  23. What a nice post this. It gives me courage to invest in the people, who crosses my path. Sometimes for a moment.Inspiring.

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    1. Thank you Jedidja! Sometimes we just don't realize how we can impact someone's life.
      I always appreciate your visits and comments!
      Thanks so much for coming by!
      Blessings to you, my friend ~ Mary

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