I was 8 years old when the spaceflight Apollo 11 landed the first humans, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. , on the moon. Armstrong spoke his famous line when he stuck the American flag to the ground: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” And the rest is history.
I’m a firm believer that little things are important. I have this joke that never fails to evoke guffaws from people. I ask: What would happen if our nostrils were made on top of our nose? Imagine when the rain comes, all of us would be covering not only our heads but also our noses lest water fills out the nose!
God is all-wise in creating nostrils under our noses. He knows placing properly these little nostrils is important.
That little embryo fertilized inside a woman’s womb is an important person and may one day create a big difference in this world. So why destroy it just because it’s only a little egg?
That tiny prick of a rusty nail into our flesh may be the beginning of gangrene or worse lockjaw.
And without one more 5 centavo coin, a person who has P999,995 can’t be called a millionaire.
Benjamin Franklin drove the point deeper when he said, “A small leak can sink a great ship.”
So when we think of how tremendous the effect of little things in our lives, aren’t we tempted to think there are no little things!
Last Thursday, I was driving back to Cebu from Toledo City in the south when we heard noisy ticks from the engine of my car whenever I step on the accelerator. And then everything halted. Good thing we were stalled right near a truck repair shop. We discovered my car overheated. And all because of the small radiator cap that was damaged. I was told to check that small cap regularly. It can destroy a car!
The little things are not only the materials we see and hold.
Sometimes we think that to be happy we should have the grandest things in life. We should behave like the popular people so we can get accepted. We must be seen with the “big” personalities so we, too, can elevate our stature. And we think all these can make us happy.
To stand out and make a difference is to simply do the little differences daily— say a friendly word, give a kiss, flash a smile, show a kind look, be generous with compliments, and not forgetting to say “thank you.” These are minute fractions that make up the happiness of life—little and simple things that will add up to make the big difference.
The little things are really what make life worthwhile.
When you give your best in your job even though you’ve long wanted a raise is more meritorious than having a high pay but depending on others to do most of the work. Every time you achieve in doing the “little” jobs, you get more experienced and more resilient. Wouldn’t this strength take care of any big challenge in your life later on?
Someone said, “Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.”
Remember the parable of the talents? The men who made use of the small money left to them were rewarded by the master. The one who hid his big money was casted out.
So what gives?
We have a God of the “littles,” the lowly, the simple and the humble. St. Matthew recorded his order—“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” He didn’t prefer the adults.
Didn’t He allow His Son Jesus to be born to a simple virgin and in a little manger instead of a kingly palace?
And didn’t Jesus himself went with the “little” people in society, even picking out the short Zaccheus to be with Him for dinner?
So if God is a God of the “littles,” we bow down in humility before him. No matter how dirty and sinful you think we are, He is always ready to forgive us. No matter how insignificant we are in society, we must believe in the talent we have no matter how great other people appear to be. We can be the blessed ones before God’s eyes if we follow His commandments. And no matter how poor we are today, be excited to experience the bigness of God’s love in heaven. In this place, there is no such thing as little or big.
For those who have not realized how important the little things are in your house, wait till they’re gone—the door key, the switch in your rice cooker, the floater in your toilet bowl, the metal teeth of a zipper, etc.
If you have been ignoring the “little” people in society—the street sweeper, the garbage collector, the school janitor or even the tired and sometimes confused waiter, wait till you meet them before God. No one is big or small before His eyes. And the award is b-i-g—eternal life in heaven.
So can you start giving that kiss to your mom now or pat your kid at the back after his day in school?