A Little Bit of Pixie Dust

If I were three years old again, I could imagine the thick layer of yellow dust on the backyard picnic table was pixie dust. But my grown up self knows better. With each breath, my allergies say I'm inhaling the tiny yellow molecules of pollen that both fall from the trees and rise from the flowers beneath my feet.

However, what many people don't realize is it's not the pollen you see that's the problem--it's the pollen you don't see.

What is seen is heavy enough to fall and stick on a horizontal surface without incident. Yet, what is unseen is light enough to remain suspended in the air until it clings to hair and clothes as well as enters mouth, eyes, and nostrils. And then? Allergy attack.

Such is life. It's all about looking past the easily visible to discern the unseen. To block out those larger than life voices that blare like a fog horn for our attention so that we can focus on the small stuff that really affects us--for both good and bad.

Yesterday, Emerson saw a small mound of dirt in the wide expanse of grass...and picked up a handful of ants for closer inspection. What I had ignored as being "too small to worry about" caused lots of damage to a little boy's hands.

In the light of the setting sun, Amelia and Wyatt gathered bundles of the clover flowers I had ignored in favor of my brightly colored petunias. And there was much beauty in those weeds.And my small find? A young boy's "collection" tucked inside his castle away from little toddler hands . A selection of large rocks. A few sticks. A leaf. And a bit of tall grass used for making Easter nests. Surely not worth much, but a sign to this mama of his growing love of the outdoors, of God's creation.
My children are experts on seeing the small and ignoring the big mama yelling "NO!!!!" at the top of her lungs. It's a characteristic I would do well to emulate a little more.

"And Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3-4).