Much in Little

It's amazing how many things in life I've had backwards - things that I thought were important aren't, things that seemed trivial are monumental, people who seemed insignificant are heavy hitters in ways not fully realized or understood at first (and vice versa). Again and again we are confronted with the paradoxes of life (God seems to like those). What I am coming to appreciate in this life and in people is that the proof is truly in the pudding. You can't manufacture wisdom, patience, love, gentleness, selflessness, character, endurance, and kindness. These things are built through time, dedication, hard work, trials, challenges, victories, defeats, and mostly through becoming more and more a "bottom shelf" person whose intimacy with Christ has allowed God to show through and in some weird way we become more ourselves by becoming less. I'm glad that God desires mercy over holiness, love over works, and realness over polish. I often revert to old habits, priorities, and ways of thinking - but I am learning to see that there is much in little (a la Walden).