God is in the details.

I try to be a good person every day, in small things and big things, but I don’t always succeed. Tomorrow’s first Friday readings reinforce the idea that God is in the details---He knows us and still loves us.

This week’s readings have been from Job. Job uses such wonderful imagery to show the mightiness of God!


“Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?” (Job 38:1, 12-21, 40:3-5)


The Psalm then shows us how God, even in that grandeur, knows each of us, when we sit and when we stand. (Ps 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14ab)  Small things do matter. In that prayer we ask God to guide us.


In the Gospel, we learn of Jesus sending out pairs of apostles as advance teams, but he warns them that they will be like “lambs among the wolves.” (Luke 10:13-16) They, too, must pay attention to the big and small things they find out on this journey.


Sometimes it’s easier to do the big gesture than pay attention to the small things. I need to remember that everyone deserves my respect and kindness, even when I’m not having a good day. I was not a very pleasant guy to be around on Wednesday.  I found out on Tuesday evening--late!--that our CEO, President, Executive VP and District VP were going to be in town to inspect our centers.  So when I got to the store I am working in this week on Wednesday morning, I was more worried about all of the items they would find wrong than taking the time to fix them.  I overreacted to some of the problems I perceived and I started to take it out on the team members who were working with me while we waited for the "bigwigs".  But Todd (my boss and very good friend who knows me better than I know myself sometimes) was able to keep them busy enough at the other stores that they had no time to visit me.  I realized, when Todd called to thank me for my efforts and tell me to "stand down" from the inspection mode I was in, that I had possibly offended those who were working with me, so I made a point to both apologize to them and thank them at the same time for all the help they gave me.   I think God  understood my crankiness but rejoiced with me when I atoned for it (At least that is my hope).


It’s fitting that tomorrow is the feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. She lived her short life dedicated to the idea that we need to do what we can where we are. In many respects, we could consider her life small, but she made it big. Small things matter.