The following devotion can also be found in the Nov. '22 Trinity Times Newsletter
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
Matthew 13:31-32 “31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
As we prepared for a little trip, we were trying to decide what clothes to pack. It seems that they can’t predict the weather around here any further out than tomorrow… and sometime they have some trouble with that one!
But it got me thinking about the coldness and the snow that starts heading our way this time of year (sometimes…). And it led me to a story I read in an old copy of a Lutheran magazine. It went something like this:
“The tiny snowflake flutters as it falls. It seems so insignificant and helpless; it cannot defy even a child.” And this called to mind how we used to try to catch them on our tongues as the snowflakes would fall. Snowflakes are so small that they can’t even resist the smallest of us. And I would also picture those first flakes, that seemed to vanish the moment they hit the ground… before piling up.
The story continued: “But it is a different matter when it unites with countless millions of other snowflakes. First, they cover the ground with a beautiful mantle of white. Then they pile higher and higher. The wind gathers them into huge drifts. Man stands helpless on the highway as the little flakes call out in unison, "You shall not pass!" The mighty railroad engine speeds along, but again the small, white messengers say, "You, too, must stop!"
The author of the story then goes on to describe a time when they were stranded in Minneapolis, because there were no vehicles leaving town. Thirty hours later, they did catch a train to Sioux Falls. And when they arrived, and asked when the train left for Madison… “There will be no trains, all the roads and tracks are closed.” Eventually, the family finally did work their way home. But why all the delay? As he put it: “Simply because the tiny snowflake had become the mighty snowflake.”
And we’ve all experienced that one. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to take much to keep us from getting to the store down the street, much less to a family member’s house some distance away.
But fortunately, the opposite is also true. Small things… and small numbers of people can add up to great things… especially when God is behind it.
It’s how God works, using each of us in ways we can’t even imagine… and often in ways we probably will not even see until we arrive in heaven and have opportunity to see the bigger picture. Snowflake after snowflake. Snowdrift after drift. Bank after bank.
After all… Just look at what God did with one little child… born to a carpenter… in one little town of Bethlehem… and placed in a little manger. One life touched so many others… one life who carried the power of His Word and Spirit to others… who carried it to others… who came to Europe… who came to America, who came to Missouri… who meet in Park Hills… who still welcome people and teach them all about a Savior… a Savior who took a cross… and left an empty tomb… for us all. Amen.
Pastor May