Seeing Small: Embracing the Ordinary Moments {#WholeMama}

We just got back from a quick road trip to New York. We were camping, visiting family, and experiencing the Adirondack Mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful. And as I stood at the center of the vast forest, at the base of these towering mountains, at the shore of the seemingly endless lake I could not help but feel small. Beautifully small. I felt this same sort of relief when I was in Greece, walking along ancient stone walls as I hiked a monstrous gorge.

SMALL AS RELIEF

It almost doesn’t make sense. When I think of small, I usually want to run. I don’t want to be thought of as small, insignificant, or unimportant. I want to be making a difference in this world, in the lives of those I am around. I want to live life fully. How can I do that if I am small?

Honestly friends, I think it’s easier than we think.

TIME FOR CHANGE: EMBRACE THE ORDINARY

We need to change the way we view small. Small is the everyday. Small can be found in those ordinary moments; you know, the ones we quickly and easily brush over. Small are the moments that don’t make it into a photo album or even onto our thankfulness lists. Small is: washing the dishes, cleaning the house, buying school supplies, making dinner, reading the Bible, snuggling, conversations with friends…and the list goes on. It is in those ordinary, everyday, small moments that life is lived. These small moments show love. The ordinary tasks dole out blessing. The grand adventures and vacations are beautiful and will certainly be remembered. But those small moments are life shaping. The moments that run together have the power to change lives. 

Just as the water droplets coming together, creating a mighty river, have the ability to change this rock face. Ordinary changes lives.

And just like that, I have to pause. I have to remind myself of this truth. The washing the dishes, the kissing boo-boos, the never ending letter practice. It is all life changing. 

This act of remembering and embracing the smallness, the ordinary is life giving. It is so easy to get lost in the everyday. I get stuck in the cycles and the schedules of life. I add the word “just” into my day, into my life.

“I just did laundry.”

“We just had time to play outside.”

“I’m just a mom.”

But that word is a lie. I am not just a mom. I did not just do laundry. We did not just play outside. Each moment was part of something bigger. Each moment tied together and influenced lives. Each moment, though small and seemingly unimportant created an extraordinary picture. Each load of laundry shows my children a love that gives, even especially in the small. Every moment of play reminds me of the joy I have, the blessings surrounding me. This motherhood is influencing more than my children. It is changing me. These small, ordinary moments of motherhood, of my every day life are changing my life. 

And sometimes I forget. Sometimes I want to run from this smallness. I want to hide from the constant dishes, the constant arguing, the constant mess. I want to hide on my phone away from the intrusions of this ordinary life. Sometimes, like today, I forget that these small moments are more. Sometimes, I forget just how important the every day is. And as I filled out our school calendar, prepping myself for the coming months, my heart began to race. How was summer coming to a close. This summer filled with big and small moments. The beautiful big moments that I savored, and the many small moments that I rushed right through. The small moments that I tried to hide from. The ordinary moments that I certainly was not embracing.

This work of embracing the small. This work in the ordinary is hard. It is difficult to remember that these ordinary moments will grow. That they will weave together. These beautiful yet ordinary moments will grow the people in our lives. They will grow us. These small moments, they will change our lives.

And there, right there, I find grace. Because though today I may not have embraced the pretend food my toddler handed me, though today I may not have embraced the rehearsal of what a letter ‘C’ looks like, though today I made mistakes – there is tomorrow. And there was yesterday, and the day before. There were and will be more ordinary, everyday, small moments. So tonight, I will embrace my small voice here, I will embrace the smallness of life now, and I will choose to embrace the small moments tomorrow. Tonight I will remember that the ordinary moments are shaping lives: the lives of my children, the lives of my friends, my husband’s life, and my own life. Tonight I will remember the the small moments are where life is lived.

How can you embrace the ordinary in your own life? Do you need to remember the beauty in the small? 

Today I am joining Esther Emery for the #WholeMama link up. I am excited to be in a community of mama bloggers that are willing to be real, vulnerable and honest. But most of all, that can show the amazing beauty and grace through it all. Each week we will be discussing one word and what it means to each of us. I would love if you joined in too! You can find more information on the original #WholeMama post, here.

Love this link up as much as I do? Here are my other #WholeMama posts:

Power to Flourish

Intentional Quiet

Embracing the Mess of Me

Musings From the Sky: Thoughts on Prayer

Finding the Balance: Space & Community