The Smaller Things

While I was in Canada (I talked about getting ready to go in this post), I brought my new copy of Guys Are Waffles, Girls Are Spaghetti by Chad Eastham (which is an awesome book I highly recommend for all teens. Check it out.) and read it when I had free time (mostly on the bus on the way down and back). In one of the chapters, Chad says the only way to conquer a fear is to do the very thing that scares you. This is not a pleasant thought for me. I’d say my number one fear is public speaking. It terrifies me.

My church does a special sermon in each service after we come back from our youth trips where several youth tell a little bit about the trip. I received a copy of the sermon outline and saw I was not speaking. Relief flooded through me. A good way to end my last trip with the youth group, I thought. Sitting in the pews listening to the others talk.

But a few days before the sharing Sunday, my youth pastor contacted me and told me that a girl who was speaking was unable to come. She asked me to speak. I really did not want to, but the quote from the book came to mind. So I said yes.

This is the speech I gave twice:

“I learned an unexpected lesson in Canada.

 While some people are so caught up looking right in front of them and missing the bigger picture, it was the opposite for me. I imagined the campers reading and having devotional time on the deck I was building, making the choice to give their lives to Christ for the first time. I’m not saying it’s wrong to think of the bigger picture of things at all. In fact, it’s very good! But I was missing what was happening right in front of me.

The night before we left the camp, we had a group campfire with the staff. One of the staff members shared how we impacted her greatly through our kindness. I was stunned. I never even thought about impacting them, but God used my daily interactions with them to show His glory, without me even realizing it.

While I was thinking about what might happen in the future, God was working in the here and now. God did awesome things through us while we were there for a short time, and I’m sure there’s a lot more to come through the rest of the summer.

I learned an unexpected lesson in Canada.

God likes to use the little things to show his glory.”

There was no miracle. I wasn’t suddenly cured of my intense fear of public speaking. But I did what terrifies me. I may never know what came from telling this story, but I know God likes to use the small things. Now when I have my nose in concerns of myself, I can be reminded to look around to find God waving his arms and saying, “Hey, I’m working over here! Come join me!”

Like public speaking. Gulp.