Small

Small

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.

“OKAY, GO,” I said, my eyes locked on Jonny stretched out on the tube. Aaron engaged the throttle, adding just enough gas to get the boat on a plane but no more. With Jonny’s tube skimming across the water and inside the boat wake, we motored around the lake for a minute before Jonny gave me the signal to stop.

“Honey, cut the motor,” I said, and Aaron immediately throttled to a stop.

“What’s wrong? Is he okay?” he asked as I hauled in the towrope, pulling Jonny and the tube back to the boat.

“He’s just nervous. It’s new and hard,” I said. I sent Jonny a smile as I called, “It’s okay, buddy. Do you want to try again, or are you done?”

By midsummer, Jonny was jumping the wake, riding the waves, and laughing uproariously as the tube caught “good air” and he went flying, asking as he bobbed in the water if he could ride again.

Do not despise your small beginning; God doesn’t. Small beginnings count. It is a practice field, a place to fail and flail and figure things out. It is forward movement, and as long as you keep going and keep trying, you’ll soon find yourself further along than you’d imagined.

I suspect that we forget that everyone starts small. We see an accomplished worship leader or a skilled speaker at our favorite conference and wish we could be there, at that level, forgetting or not realizing the small beginning and the thousands of hours of hard work behind that moment in the spotlight.

While God certainly has the ability to catapult someone directly into the big leagues, I’ve never seen it. If you listen closely, you’ll hear famous speakers and authors talk about small beginnings, about early failures, about writing words only their moms read, or speaking to a room filled with five people, three of whom organized the event.

God is with us in our small beginnings, and he loves to see us start.

Lord, thank you for small beginnings, for a safe place to practice. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Write down, “Do not despise these small beginnings,” and post it where you can easily see it as you work on your small beginning.