Start Small
Hey everyone! Teaser— you are going to like what I’m discovering about Mary Magdalene. Things that you may not have known. The story just keeps getting better and better!
Mary of Magdala: A Woman Shaped by Place
🌎The World Before the Word
It’s not a big thing.
That’s part of the problem.
A small task.
A conversation.
A decision that’s been sitting just off to the side.
You’ve noticed it more than once.
Thought about doing it.
Almost started.
But not quite.
So it lingers.
Quiet. Unresolved.
Not urgent enough to demand attention—
but present enough to keep returning.
And over time, it gains weight
without ever changing size.
The Old Reflex
The old reflex is avoidance dressed as delay.
I’ll get to it later.
Now’s not the right time.
I need to be in a better headspace.
So it gets pushed—
not far, just far enough.
But the delay doesn’t remove it.
It just spreads it out.
And what could have been simple
becomes mentally crowded.
Not because it’s difficult—
but because it’s unaddressed.
🌿The new Covenant Posture
Meets the small things honestly.
Not with pressure—
but with willingness.
There is no need to dramatize what is simple.
No need to wait for the perfect moment
to do what is already clear.
Faithfulness often looks like quiet movement.
Taking the step.
Making the call.
Starting the thing.
Not to clear a list—
but to live unburdened by what lingers unnecessarily.
📜 The Word
“Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.”
📖 Ecclesiastes 11:4
This reflects the futility of waiting for ideal conditions. Ancient agrarian life required action amid uncertainty—delay often meant loss, not safety.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…”
📖 Luke 16:10
Jesus teaches that faithfulness is not measured by scale, but by consistency. Small acts of responsibility are not insignificant—they are formative.
Together, they point toward a life that moves when it’s time,
not when it’s perfect.
🤵 Pastoral Word
When we are young often your mother or father would ask you to make your bed every morning, or to do the dishes. You may not have been allowed to put it off but I bet, unless you were a freak of nature, you would have. Were mom and dad trying to teach the principle Luke lays out in the verse above? Or is it just a traditional posture for parents to take on. The later is likely true in most cases. We’re told we are being taught responsibility— but doing the failing at the deed brings greater learning experiences.
We all know the “little” thing we want to put off usually has some baggage associated with it. Seldom do I put off a little thing because I know it can wait. I simply don’t want to do it— like cleaning that coffee stain that the cat made… I mean, I made.
The stain reminds me of the cat, my frustration of the day, and my unsettled posture. The stain, while not a totally simple task, reminds me of the event— it reminds me of my failure.
I literally considered just “covering it up”. I guess I’ll get to it after I get some advice from my wife. There, I’ve successfully transferred the deed to another.
What’s more, the little thing gets heavier the longer I wait.
Had I cleaned it up, I’d be in total peace about it now, wouldn’t I?
I could have started at the top with how small things stack up. I quickly realized that missed the point entirely. The one small thing we need to handle is weight enough.
So, pick one small thing you are putting off and HANDLE IT.
You’ll find you are liberated beyond what you may have imagined.
Now— after that feeling of liberation, make a list of all things that you are putting off.
Then— bless that list because now it is a list of liberating things you can do that will fill your heart with joy!
Take one at a time- the goal is not to get through the list, it’s to live each moment of freedom as you mark each one off the list.
🙏 Let's Pray
You walk through this day with quiet resolve.
Not rushed,
not pressured,
but willing.
When something small rises into your awareness—
something you’ve delayed,
something unfinished—
may you meet it with simple action.
No overthinking.
No postponing.
Just a steady step forward.
May you discover that peace often waits
on the other side of what you’ve been putting off.
And as you move through each moment,
may your life be shaped not by avoidance,
but by presence—
a presence that is attentive,
responsive,
and free.
Let what is small remain small
by meeting it when it comes.
And may your day carry the quiet strength
of things handled in their time.
🔥Carry this With You Today
I do what is in front of me without delay.
