It's the little things that matter in the long run.

Taking my nieces and nephew outside...
Blowing up an endless amount of balloons...
Teaching them how to play Canadian duck-duck-goose...
Playing "big kid" bubble chase...
Laying on the grass, staring up at a cloudless sky...
Sighting a hawk circling up above us...
Leaning up against each other, defining "blog"...
Discussing the virtues of the Asian pear, verses the Bartlett variety...

It's the little things.
These little moments...
These little moments...

These little moments that bind our hearts together will prove to be strongholds later in life. They bring us closer together, for longer.

It reminds me of a verse in the Bible. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much..."
If I am faithful to take the time to listen to the "least" of their thoughts, take an interest in the "least" of their passing fancies, they will trust me with the "much" things in their lives when they get older.

Lord, keep me faithful in the least things, so that I can be faithful in much.

God's Heroes

I read this recently in a devotional called Streams in the Desert, compiled by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman. It's quite a thought:

   "And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord reaised up a deliverer...who delivered them, even Othniel...Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him." (Judges 3:9, 10)
   God is preparing His heroes; and when opportunity comes, He can fit them into their place in a moment, and the world will wonder where they came from.
   Let the Holy Ghost prepare you, dear friend, by the discipline of life; and when the last finishing touch has been given to the marble, it will be easy for God to put it on the pedestal, and fit it into its niche.
   There is a day coming when, like Othniel, we, too, shall judge the nations, and rule and reign with Christ...But ere that glorious day can be we must let god prepare us, as He did Othniel at Kirjath-Sepher, amid the trials of our present life, and the little victories, the significance of which, perhaps, we little dream. At least, let us be sure of this, and if the Holy Ghost has an Othniel ready, the Lord of Heaven and Earth has a throne prepared for him.
                                      ~A.B. Simpson