It’s the little things – both physically and figuratively. The little things really are just the spice of life! They can either be the easiest to overlook or the easiest way to feel immense joy! We get to make the choice of which lifestyle we will embrace and keep choosing it day after day. I choose the latter. Though there are certainly times when my focus veers off course – almost always in those long, grey days of January and February! During those times, I find myself ignoring the little things and losing the ability to see daily magic that is right there for the taking! Those days begin to run together and I find myself sulking through my daily chores in the most depressive and wasteful sort of way. But, when I get it right…my heart quickly becomes lighter and my days become a thing of beauty amidst the mundane. I am thankful for the days of sunshine, that make it so easy for my heart to collect all the little things.
This morning the kids and I went to the chicken coop so they could mark the eggs our broody hen is laying on. If you are unfamiliar with chickens, we do that so we can go out each day and gather the new, unmarked eggs. If you don’t, you will soon find your broody hen on a mountain of eggs she can no longer cover and they will start cracking and rotting. This time the kids decided to go ahead and pick eggs for each of us and write our initials on them rather than just mark them with an X, so that when the babies hatch we all will have our own to name. Now, the likelihood of actually seeing them hatch and knowing which chick came from which egg is pretty small…but it was worth a shot, right?
That simple task was such a joy giver. We marveled at how quickly it had gone from a cool morning, to the sun blazing so hot on our backs. We ruminated on if we would get more hens than roosters and if we would get some pretty babies that look like their Mama, who has the most gorgeous colored feathers! And while we all anticipated the sweet chicks we hope will hatch in a few weeks…this Mama just scooped up all those little things and held them in my heart.
I watched precious, little hands gently hold the smooth orbs and so carefully write their initials on them. As I watched, I wondered at how noticing something a simple as my child’s hand could fill up my heart and make it spill over. I watched my perfectionist son write his “R’s” without getting frustrated and held myself back from squeezing his tiny, little frame with joy! I watched how my daughter held such tender, respect for the Mama hen as she tried her best to put the eggs back how they were and I felt grateful that my kids get to experience (on a small level) the responsibility that comes with farm animals. There they lay…those beautiful little eggs, in a nest of hay…a hopeful reminder that when we take care with the little things, they will soon hatch into something bigger. And even more beautiful…is that it won’t end there! That cycle of care, will be returned with more beautiful, little, gifts of magic to nourish us…both body and soul.
-Vanessa
