Inside our garage there’s a large section of a fence along the wall, looming over my car when I climb out. It’s a trial run of a much larger project that my husband hopes to start this spring when the ground thaws, a fence to enclose our backyard to make it safer, more private, and more beautiful.
I’ve looked at countless images of fences in different sizes, shapes, designs, patterns. I’ve seen photos of the English-style garden my husband dreams to plant. And phrases like “shadow-box” and “lattice” have been incorporated into my vocabulary as we’ve debated the pros and cons of a 6-foot fence vs. an 8-foot fence.
I’ve spent entirely too much time in the local home store staring blankly at fence posts.
That fence? It’s not beautiful right now. In fact, it’s in the way, smells like a lumber yard, and takes up entirely too much space. I’m worried I might pop a tire on a forgotten screw.
That section of fence is only a piece of a much larger project — a project that’s easy to overlook, and easy to forget, as the smaller piece gets relegated to the side.
I feel like that piece sometimes. A little lost. Sometimes set aside. In a noisy world where fancier, shinier, and bigger get the glory, I sit in my small town and live my every day wondering if I’m noticed? Or worse, if I’m just in the way.
As I’ve spent some time wrestling over my motivations for recognition lately, God has been teaching me to look at my place and position as a gift from Him. He sees the big picture, the whole project, where every screw and board and refining cut will come together in my life to work together for His kingdom.
And sometimes it’s the smallest pieces that add the most strength.
Our fence? If we only planned to build it using the largest pieces of lumber and the heaviest posts, it would collapse immediately. Every piece — from the messiest cement to the smallest screw — must work together to create something secure and beautiful.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 says it this way:
You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of His one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which He has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of His resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—His Spirit—where we all come to drink.
But on those days when it feels incredibly easy to be overlooked? When our view of the world from our computers makes us wonder if we’re being used in God’s plan at all? God has this to say: In Isaiah 49 we’re promised, “I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” No matter what, God does not forget you.
You are not overlooked.
You are not insignificant.
You are not less than.
God sees you. He knows you. He carries your name on His hands.
You are His.
You are chosen.
You are forgiven.
You are called.
You are loved.
You are included.
You are wanted.
Following the loud, clanging demands and expectations of the world will only make us feel insecure as we compare our place in God’s plan to those around us. Let’s instead choose to trust God as the Master Craftsman who knows when, and how, and why, and which pieces to use to make something beautiful and secure that will last a lifetime.
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Kristen says
Thank you for sharing, Crystal. This is a great reminder of how much God sees in us even when we don’t see.
Crystal says
So beautifully said, thank you Kristen!
c says
I am glad that God sees the finished picture and though the pieces in themselves don’t make sense, the complete picture is perfect. Thank God that I am that piece that completes the picture. Each piece is so important
Crystal says
Thanking God for that right along with you 🙂
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Crystal,
I feel like that little piece too. Do I really make a difference or do I just get in the way sometimes? Thank you for this wonderful and true reminder that we ALL play an integral part in God’s master plan…that without one part (especially the small ones) the body doesn’t function. Thanks for this reminder to start my Friday…
Blessings,
Bev
Crystal says
Thank you so much, Bev, for the very significant part you play, with your incredible gift of encouragement and affirmation!
Angela Nazworth says
Oh Crystal, I just loved this analogy. I wrestle with my size in this world a lot both emotionally and physically even … my little voice that people often mistake for a child’s, my need to pull out a step stool every time I’m in my kitchen, my small social media platforms even though I’ve been blogging for nearly a decade … If I’m not careful, I can easily let my frustration with my smallness overshadow the meaningful. Thank you for this beautiful reminder about the significance and strength that’s in the small. I just love your heart friend, it carries such graceful, quiet wisdom that is never “in the way.”
Crystal says
I love how similar we are 🙂 You would have caught me standing on a chair in my office a bit ago to put paper in my printer because it’s just one of those many “out of reach” places I feel like I have to deal with every day. Your encouragement & friendship means so much to me, Angela!
Dee says
Thank you for that word Crystal, it was food to my soul. Sometimes I do feel like that I am that piece as well but God always reveals to me that I am the smallest piece that adds the most strength. I to have to look at myself and recognize my position as a gift from him. Be Blessed!
Crystal says
Dee, thank you so much for letting me know I’m not alone in this 🙂
Kim S says
Crystal, such encouraging words that my heart needs to hear this morning: “A little lost. Sometimes set aside. In a noisy world where fancier, shinier, and bigger get the glory, I sit in my small town and live my every day wondering if I’m noticed? Or worse, if I’m just in the way.” I feel that way alot too, but am trying everyday to believe that God has a plan for me, not everyone else’s plan, but one just for little ol’ me. Thanks always for being such an inspiration to me! Have a great day, Kim Stewart
Beth Williams says
Crystal,
I way to often feel like the little piece. Work can make me feel unwanted, lost, not useful. Then there are days when God shows up and reveals just how useful I can be there. He shows me that without me a lot of small projects would not get done. The task itself may seem insignificant, but in the big picture it is all important to getting the job done.
Thanks for a wonderfully written piece!
Blessings 🙂
Crystal Stine says
Oh Beth, I just love that perspective! Thank you so much 🙂
Crystal Stine says
Oh Beth, I just love that perspective! Thank you so much 🙂