This past week, as I flew over the vast desert of the American West, I was struck by just how infinite it seemed. Endless stretches of red earth, interrupted only by the occasional small town, scattered like dots across miles of two-lane roads. From above, the towns appeared to be so insignificant – tiny clusters of buildings that looked like flecks of dust.
I found myself imagining what life was like down there: a grocery store aisle, a group of people going about their day, oblivious to the scale of the world around them. And yet what struck me most was the approximate 229 miles that I could see was still only a tiny sliver of the United States. In the grand scheme of things, we are so, so small. Less than dust.
From that vantage point, life felt so much less about me. It felt like there was context. Like I could see a bigger picture.
When my feet are on the ground, and I’m living my day-to-day life, I can lose perspective of just how small I am. It’s easy to get wrapped up in my own world, focusing only on what is directly in front of me. Which brings me to two thoughts:
- Our “smallness” should reshape how we view our place in the world. Many of us are walking out really difficult things right now, and I don’t want to minimize that. It’s real, and it’s heavy, and it matters. But how often do we turn our smallest inconveniences into a drama where we are center stage?
- Our “smallness” should shift how we view God’s greatness. The fact that He, with his eternal perspective, would choose to zoom into our galaxy, into our planet, into our country, into our state, into our city, and into the very roof over our heads to offer us a personal, day-to-day, relationship with Him? What an extraordinary gift!
So today as you go about your routine, remind yourself about HOW MUCH you are loved by a gracious, heavenly Father. And remember that same love when you interact with others, even when it’s hard to extend.
People’s rudeness or anger might not be about you at all. It could just be the manifestation of something deeply personal – like a diagnosis they just received, a job loss, or pain they haven’t shared yet. We don’t always have the context to understand someone else’s story, so let’s always err on the side of grace.
You’ll never know how far a little kindness can go.