It may seem like these are opposite ideas: I am not overwhelmingly detail oriented, but I often sweat the small stuff. In writing and researching, I will sometimes miss something or misspell a word, but I get most of it right. When it comes to people, though, I tend to sweat the small stuff I may have missed. Was it something important? Was I not paying attention (darn ADHD!)? And yes, I tend to be a big-picture person – I have ideas that I can kind of map out in my head, but then I leave the details to those more suited to it. And I have always had one of those memories that can’t remember names but can remember that your Aunt Hilda had surgery 10 years ago in Iowa in the middle of a snowstorm… I know, weird.
Sometimes, though, we need to sweat the small stuff. I don’t mean that we should go in circles over meaningless things (was it a snowstorm or a tornado?); I mean that we should try to remember what people are going through in life, even if it seems small to us. I know that in my own life, I have been moved by people who, 6 months after I went through something, asked how I was doing. When someone pops into my head randomly, I call them; I’ve found that, most of the time, they are going through something trying. Or, maybe, they are just feeling disconnected from the world or down about the way things seem to be going; sometimes, sweating the small stuff leads to stronger connections with one another.
If you have had small stuff that I haven’t checked on, I’m sorry – none of us can keep up with all of it. Just know this; even when people aren’t checking in, they are often thinking about you. Everyone has their stuff; some of it is small, and some of it is big, but all of it matters. The next time you see an angry post from that cousin you haven’t spoken to lately, or you think about that high school friend who seems to have disappeared, I hope you will take a moment to reach out to them. Because the small stuff can become big stuff, and all of us need a call or a wave or a nudge once in a while. It can make all the difference in the world. And we all need to know that even our small stuff matters.
Prayer – Holy God, help us to keep connected to one another, so that we won’t feel alone. Amen.
Today’s art is “Caring Hands” by Helgunn Ravonsheed.