Something Great from Something Small

Honeybee at work, photo by Alana Little.

We often think we need to start big in order to grow big. We don't realize that God can take what little we have and multiply it has he wills. In small beginnings, God does some of his best work.

When I first quit my nursing job in 2019 to start my business- I was thinking big. I had faith believing that as soon as I quit my job and began working on my business that it was going to blow up - and that's just not what happened - and I'm so grateful that it didn't.

Over the years, God has been working on me and allowing me to mature and grow in areas that I didn't realize I needed to. For instance, when I first began crafting soaps and skin care, I didn't fully believe in myself - and in turn, I felt a little uncomfortable putting myself out there and promoting my business. My thoughts were "Well what if they don't like it?" Now, I create simply because I enjoy it, and I enjoy it so much that if I was to never make another dollar from this, my heart would be content.

I wanted to start big, but God had other plans. He slowed me down, set my feet on a different path, and this caused me to start small. Gradually, organically, God has been slowly growing my business. Little by Little. This process was necessary because he wanted to work on me and show me some things. Proverbs 18:21 says "An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end." I wasn't ready for what I was asking for, but God knew. Sometimes if we receive something too soon, it won't be much of a blessing. We may not appreciate it as much. It's in the waiting, in the growing, in the hoping, where gratefulness is cultivated and allowed to bloom.

There's a story in the bible about a widow called to provide food for the prophet Elijah - the only problem is, she barely had enough to feed her and son. She began with only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug, but God blessed the little that she had and "there was food every day for Elijah, the woman, and her family"1 Kings 17:15.

Let's not forget the story about Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Impossible circumstances often pave the way for God's miraculous.

Think of how honey is made from the bee. Bees start small, collecting nectar from one flower to the next - little by little- they collect what they need. It's a process - it doesn't all happen at once.

What little do you have that seems insignificant? Have you bought it before God, submitting it to his will? We often think big, but God does his best work in small beginnings. Only he can make something great from something small.