Thursday, December 14, 2006

Small Details Great Stories

It is almost 50 degrees on December 14, 2006 with a bright sun and a warm wind making for a peaceful afternoon run.I noticed a small nest hanging above the trail, a detail I must have often missed passing underneath. Maybe my mind is always too busy, or I have been watching the more easily noticed geese landing on the lake. It is easy to miss the small details that for some small creatures must have held a great story. Maybe it was in that nest young first peaked out discovering a world of baby strollers, runners, roller bladders, bikers, young boys carrying fishing polls, and romantic couples all passing a few feet below them. The nest hangs on the end branches of a tree that must, in either a breeze or a thunderstorm, gave a continued sense of motion, sway, and sometimes tumult.

It is Nick who I remember always noticing the detail of the world missed by those who tend to only see the macro. We reminisced together the northern Minnesota path that led our family over a small walking bridge to the base of a splendid rushing waterfall. As we all hurried to see it, little Nick stooped on bended knees to witness a small bug making its way across the path. No matter how much we called and pleaded for Nick to come and experience the site of the falls, he remained mesmerized by the smaller fascinating world.

Maybe there are bigger stories in the smaller unnoticed. Maybe understanding life, faith, relationship, and joy doesn’t really come from the hype that calls and pleads for us to rush to the base of the bigger and better commercial promises. Oh come, oh come Emmanuel… the small, the insignificant, the unnoticed. Born this day in the city of David… the unheard of comes the seemingly impossible of a sacred mystery. It is easy to miss the small details that hold the great stories.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, its in the tiny details that we often see God, isn't it? A blade of grass, a purple violet under a fallen log, a perfect snowflake. Thanks for loveley reminder to pay attention during this busy season.