little things

here's my latest article for the newspaper that will remain nameless. its about little things
its for all my friends, all whom i love, as a reminder of what we have been given, and what we can give.

It’s about time that we all begin to act like children again. Although it would be fun to consider pulling girl’s pigtails again, never eating vegetables, tracking mud into the house, sleeping on the floor with the dog and generally never washing our hands or faces, this isn’t the sort of childishness that I am talking about.

In our every day lives, full of freeway traffic, fast food dinners, studying theology, trying to take people out on dates, and talking to our families, the little things are beginning to fall to the way side. These little things are the pieces that help make life livable, and often times I am hard pressed to remember the last time I did anything about it.

Some of the most memorable little things that I can remember are the notes that my mom and I would leave for each other when I was a kid. She would put a note in my lunch box before I left for school on a little heart shaped piece of pink paper. “I love you,” she would write, “don’t forget to wipe the jelly off your face sweetheart.”

As much as these notes would make me cringe with third grade embarresment, looking back now I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything in the whole world. I used to leave her notes too. Little drawings and scribbled scrawls on napkins and scratch paper I would find around the house would become my note pad. I would hide them under her coffee cups, or put them in her purse or under her pillow. Every single one of these notes is still in a box somewhere because they meant so much to my mom.

Thinking about these little things a lot lately has brought me to the conclusion that most of us are quite negligent in showing our affection and care to those around us. Sure we go hang out with our friends, and fit stuff in when it works out. But more often than not we break our engagements, and forget that taking two minutes out of our day to send a little card just to say “Hello”, or “I’m praying for you” makes the biggest difference in the world. It’s these little moments or giving and receiving that we will remember in the years down the road. The small moments of heartfelt sincerity, friendship and love that will stick with us during the hard times.

Now as a general rule women are much more naturally gifted at these practices than men. Often I have found myself resting in the knowledge that my friend John and I will be friends forever, even if we never see each other, talk or hang out. To a certain extent this is true, because John and I understand that our friendship is lasting and based on wonderful times together and our bond in Christ. However, everytime I do get the chance to actually hang out with him, I come away feeling much better about our friendship and its solidity. I think that in general, myself and many other guys can understand this ‘resting on the knowledge” of the state of any sort of relationship. There is great peril in this though when we begin to deal with people strictly in a resting sense.

We, men and women alike, should really be concerned about showing others the way that we care for them. Whether it be a friend, a family member, the kid from down the hall, your boyfriend or girlfriend, or even a professor, these people can always use little bits of affirmation. Especially when it comes to relationships between men and women, the little things are crucial.

So I think its about time that we all take a look at the way that we take other people for granted, and stop. Often times we never have the luxury of realizing how much a person means to us until we have lost them, but now is that chance. Take a few quite moments, write some nice little cards, draw a fun little picture or pick up someone’s favorite candy or drink, and just let them now how much they mean to you in your life. I can promise you that by lowering our pride just a little bit, recognizing the importance of the people that God has put in our lives and doing something about it, you become more and more childlike each and every day. Before you know it you may just find yourself making daisey chains, swinging on the swings in the park, smiling more, and feeling your heart happier and less self-focused.

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