I have vivid memories of visits to my grandma’s house in Springfield, Missouri—and the cookie jar. I loved that jar because I could turn the head and it would either be a duck or a chicken. As soon as I walked in Grandma’s door, I made a mad dash for the jar, knowing she had joyfully filled it with fresh-baked cookies, just for me. The counter was exactly the right height for me to reach in, grab a cookie, and play with the duck/chicken head. I remember lifting it carefully, knowing how special it was to Grandma. After she passed away, I was blessed with that treasured cookie jar—Grandma had told Mom to make sure that it became mine someday. I was thrilled when I could set it on my counter and fill it with warm cookies. It’s still in a prominent location where I can see it and be reminded that Grandma found joy in my joy.
I often call special happenings in my life “cookie jar moments.” These are things that seem insignificant at the time, but turn out to be important and precious. Like a cookie jar! Our lives are a collection of many small moments stacked on top of each other to build a beautiful life.
As I took my walk yesterday, I thought of how Jesus pointed us to those moments. He valued small things and used them to illustrate key messages: a small boy’s lunch
turned into a feast (Luke 9:10-17); a mustard seed that can move a mountain (Matthew 17:20); the value of a widow’s two coins (Mark 12:41-44). He even finds great worth in the hairs on our head! (Matthew 10:30).
I love this quote: “Meaningful lives are rarely built on stages under spotlights. Meaningful lives are built by coming fully awake to our everyday lives.” God values small, “cookie jar moments,” and that inspires me to do the same. But to really value those moments, I must slow down, pay attention, and savor the goodness in the here and now. It’s not always the big things that matter most; it’s all the moments added together that
give our lives precious meaning.
May we never dismiss the small, but instead realize that what seems insignificant might bring the biggest transformation.