I don't know about you, but the American dream (at least how I learned about it in my little corner of the world growing up) was always about bigger and better.
"Don't just get one degree after high school get two if you can!!"
Or, "Don't just get married in a private ceremony one day, but save and save so that you can invite everyone you know to a plated dinner!"
And then, "For goodness sake, don't just go into retirement with only the bare minimum to your name! Make sure your plans help you live out your later years in style!"
More is always preferred. Less is not.
Even in faith communities too, right? We are living in the mega congregation era where small membership communities have a "less than" label.
But sigh.
This week I want to sit with less and our word of the week, small. Small defined as a size that is less than normal or usual.
I love this definition of small because it reminds us that there is nothing wrong with small other than the standard others have set as "normal." Yet, you and I might complain because we have-
A small job.
A small family.
A small house.
You don't fit in with people you want to connect with. You don't think that what you have is enough. You look down on your small and so . . .
You think you need to make more money.
You think you need to have more influence in the world's biggest problems.
You think you need to do as much as you were able to do 10 years ago in good health.
And so in bypassing small, you miss out on the beautiful moments that can be found with what you have!
If there is anything I'm learning since leaving a big city over 3 years go, it is that "a small life" is a life of my dreams.
Take it from your girl who was chasing bigger and better and more influential opportunities for years -- the "big stuff" often doesn't bring your heart what it longs for most.
Small does. It really does.
So, I don't know how you need to make peace with what is smaller in your life (or what needs to be), but I do know this (say it with me) there is nothing wrong with small.
Just be you, and I know your Creator will continue to lead you in what is yours to do this week.
XO
Elizabeth
Do you believe you're living a life well lived now?
For most of us it's so easy to ignore, try to skip over or plow through the hard chapters of our lives and not learn the lessons they have for us. But today, Dolly-- a friend I met through my pastorate last summer at North Chevy Chase Christian in Maryland has a testimony to share as she looks back over the key stories of her life. And ultimately her word is that God's goodness has prevailed. You'll want to read her words-
My life has been good. God has been good to me. It’s hard, now, for me to see any of it as being difficult. Although, at times, it surely was.
My father died my senior year in college.
My mother called saying, “Dad has had a stroke, come home quickly.” He was unconscious when I got there and never regained consciousness. He died the next day. We didn’t get to say goodbye. That was hard. But life goes on. I went back to college, finished my final exams. I graduated. God was with me.
My first child was stillborn.
I was very sick with toxemia during the pregnancy and lost 20 pounds. I was so weak they didn’t bring the baby to me in the hospital. Maybe they thought it would be too much for me to deal with, holding my dead baby. So I never got to see him. I only have my memories of my relationship with him while he was in the womb. I talked to him all the time while he was inside me. I knew him. But I never got to see him or hold him. That was hard. But life goes on. I was young, my husband was supportive. I survived. God was with me.
Twenty-some-odd years went by, my marriage failed, I struggled with getting a divorce.
I prayed about it, knowing what the Bible says about divorce. Always I have tried to be obedient to God. I made my decision and trusted that God would forgive me. I survived. Life went on. And it was good. God was with me.
When Bread for the World relocated from New York City to Washington, DC in 1982 I applied for a job opening as assistant to the director. Lo and behold, I got it. We moved from Bloomington, Indiana, to Washington, DC. And I spent the next 27 ½ years using my talent for organization for a worthwhile organization that accomplished great things for hungry people. Being a Christian organization, the staff nurtured each other with weekly prayers on Friday and with ongoing loving support of one another. Now retired, Bread is still close to my heart and I keep the staff and the mission of the organization in my prayers. And it was good. God was with me.
But then my mother died, at a ripe old age, I felt like an orphan.
Both father and mother dead. No brothers or sisters. But life went on. I spent time talking to her as I drove to work each morning. And then one morning, I got to work and realized I hadn’t thought of her once. And that is the way life is. It goes on, and so do we. God was with me.
Despite the times of loss and change, God has always been good to me. The difficult times strengthened my relationship with Him. He has always been with me, guiding me, comforting me, forgiving me, loving me. The Bible text that I try to live my life by has long been these words from Micah 6:8: “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
I am blessed.
Dolly was born in Indiana and now lives in Maryland with her husband. She has an B.S. in Music, Indiana University. She loves her family, friends & neighbors. Now as a retired woman she especially appreciates her animals, nature, music, books, and lots of peace and quiet. 
