When our middle child was born, we decorated her bed in cow print. I made a little stuffed cow out of leftover material from her bumper pads and headboard, and someone gave us a big stuffed cow as a baby gift.
We had no idea that cutesy decorative plan would turn into a cow passion.
For her tenth birthday, our daughter requested a cow themed birthday and began asking for cows as gifts. Now, just over a year later, her collection has increased from the bumper pads and two cute cows of infancy to quite the menagerie of stuffed cows and cow print treasures.
The little things have added up to quite a collection!
Life has a way of doing that. We discover little interests, plant small seeds of thought, or invest a small portion of our attention. It seems insignificant at the time, but we wake up one day to find that the small has grown. Like my daughter, we suddenly have quite the collection!
I love it when God takes little seeds and turns them into something grand. He molds them beyond anything we ever could have imagined or foreseen. But we have a responsibility, too. We must be attentive as He incorporates those growing seeds into our lives.
It is especially critical that we pay attention to those little seeds in our marriages.
Often the little interests, tiny thoughts, or bits of energy and attention seem insignificant in the beginning. We put a bit of ourselves into them, not even thinking about the need to share with our spouses. Then we wake up and realize that the little interests have turned into passions. The tiny thoughts have become big hopes, dreams, and even plans. The small amount of energy and attention has suddenly become much greater.
And our spouses don’t understand because they never knew about them when they were just little seedlings.
Obviously, if my husband and I shared every little thought that popped into our heads, we would never be able to sort out the significant. That is why it is so important for us to recognize the difference between random thoughts and tiny buds of interest. And as we have learned to recognize, we have also learned to share.
“I have a random thought.”
“This might be a ridiculous idea.”
“I wonder about…”
Sometimes we talk and the thoughts end there. Sometimes Doug and I proceed in awareness of the budding thoughts and interests of the other, but allowing the pursuits to be relatively independent. Still other times, we share a thought that the other is able to enhance and help develop, offering a different point of view.
There are also those times when a tiny shared thought becomes a joint dream. It grows into something we become passionate about together. And what joy we share as we watch it grow!
Whatever the case, though, we share. The little seedlings must not grow without the knowledge of my spouse!
There is nothing too little for a marriage. No thought too insignificant. No interest too ridiculous. No expenditure of attention or energy too minute. But there are things that can grow too big when they are not shared.
What little thing can you share with your spouse this week? May the sharing only deepen your bond!
Not Quite Ordinary 