This summer as I’ve gone on my walks, I’ve been so blessed to see such an abundance of wildflowers. There even seems to be some that I’ve never noticed before and I don’t know what they are.

Lately I’ve seen many stalks with tiny, individual flowers on them, sometimes hundreds of the miniature beauties clustered on the stalks. These behind-the-scenes fillers come in many colors – from white, yellow, orange and blues, to various shades of pinks and purples, even some greens. They are easy to pass by as they do not take center stage like large, showy flowers.

In a flower arrangement, the Dahlias, Lilies, Gladiolas and Roses are the prominent show pieces, with greenery and smaller flowers as background fillers. But instead of just walking past the tiny filler flowers, I’ve been stopping to look closely at them. On close inspection, each individual miniature flower is beautiful on its own. If one could greatly magnify them or blow them up in size, they too could take their place among the show case giants.

I’ve heard this before, but it came to my attention again one morning before I went for a walk. Robert Brault said, “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” So this, too, prompted me to stop and enjoy the tiny filler flowers that we normally pass by with only a token glance. I believe that if we would take more time to smell the flowers, more time to enjoy the little pleasures in life, they would add up to greater joy in our lives.

Just as the large, showy flowers take center stage in a flower arrangement, so do the special, big events and celebrations that are few and far between take center stage in life.

The weddings, graduations, births of children and grandchildren, vacations – these are the events that require much planning and preparation that we may anticipate for years. Like the huge Dahlias, these occasions draw the most attention and anticipation.

But then there are all the other days, the mundane days, the ordinary, routine days, the days that make up the fillers between the grand days. We tend to skip through these days, doing what we need to do, busying ourselves with the cares of life. These days come and go as in a blur, and once in a while we stop to think about the next big event, the next celebration we can look forward to and start planning for.

We need to start taking notice of the filler days. We need to begin enjoying the little things, the tiny blessings God has bestowed upon us even in the mundane. For indeed there are many, and each filler day has a beauty of its own if we would stop to look for it.

The little joys and blessings of everyday life are really the big things that stay with us. These tiny blessings all clustered together become the joy that keeps us going, the memories that stick with us. They are truly the big things that life is made of.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 482-5300.