Pursuit 31: Making little things BIG

** The images featured in this post were captured at the Pursuit 31 Conference this year and are simply incredible- check out the very end of the post for details**

Hi, hello, oh, hey!

Is it just me, or has it been far too long since we had a heart to heart?

No, you’re right, it isn’t just me.

I have a confession.

I pray for you.  Yes, you.  The reader.  I pray that when I open my heart up like this, that yours is open too, and that whatever I write encourages, and spurs you.  Sometimes I pray it makes you uncomfortable, so that you DO something about it.

If we were together, this is when I would buy you a latte and we’d curl up across from each other.  Knee deep in conversation, we’d continue to explore the mess of our hearts.  And then I’d admit that I haven’t been completely honest with you.

Let me explain:  God’s been doing SO much in my heart, and I’ve been selfish with it- I haven’t shared it.

And I’m sorry.

It all came to me at Pursuit 31.  But let me admit, that it started way before, I just wasn’t aware of what was happening inside my heart.  Pursuit 31 is a Creative Community Conference.  It’s a place where authenticity is required, bravery is cultivated and bonfires are necessary.  It’s a place where laughter doesn’t end- even if the tears begin- and relationships are eternal.  I could go on and on.  But, let me let you watch this.  It will explain it better than I ever could:

[vimeo 107092980 w=500 h=281]

Amazing, right?

Well, thats where it happened.  Honestly, that’s where a lot happened- but I’m just going to share a small bit of it.  (I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about the incredibleness (that’s a word, I’m sure) of it all in the months to come.)  It was there that the Lord made it evident in my life that he doesn’t call us to big things.

Nope.

See, I’m a dreamer.  I see the endless possibility in everything. I see potential in the things that often get overlooked.  To make things a little more cray, my dreamer tendency’s are often laced in positivity.  Which makes my dreaming even more potent.  Often, I get in the mindset of “go big, or go home”.  

But, what happens when big isn’t cutting it?  When big just doesn’t happen?  What if big wasn’t what we were supposed to do?  See, that’s when I realized it.  Right there.  In between drinking my morning coffee at Pursuit and walking to a photography class with Katelyn James.

God doesn’t call us to big things, he calls us to all things.

See, there is a difference between big things and all things.  God doesn’t just call us to do things that are flashy, and hard, and full of abounding rewards if we “choose to follow him and do them”.  No, that’s not my God.  My God calls us to all things .  Every. Single. Day.

He is so good at what he does.  He takes the insignificant and makes it significant.  He takes the unqualified and makes them over qualified.  He takes the broken and restores it better than it was before.  He takes the little things and makes them eternally important.  If my God was a God of only the big things then, when I didn’t do those big things, he’d have to go with “Plan B”.   And my God is God because he doesn’t have to have “Plan B”.  He’s sovereign that way.  

I think we often believe that life is about “the next step” or “what we can do for God” or “what God has called us to”– let me encourage you: You can’t do nothin’. That’s his job.

It’s humbling- and I may have just rocked your boat a little bit- but once you get passed the initial “Oh wow, thanks for punching my pride” mentality, it’s actually really powerful and really liberating.

So, let me encourage you.  Any prompting you feel that your flesh doesn’t like- DO it.  And I mean anything.  It could be smiling at a stranger, or asking someone how their day was (and really caring).  It could be offering to give someone a ride, or paying for someone’s coffee.  If your flesh immediately says “Nah,” when those thoughts cross your mind, or you try to convince yourself “it’s not your job” or “It won’t matter if you DO or DON’T do it,” then, whatever it is, suck it up and DO it.  That’s how battles are won.  That’s how we are used.  That’s how we find joy.  That’s how we live satisfied.  It’s not about us.  So, we step outside of ourselves and let God do what he does best.  We can do all of this in ANY walk of life- in any career, and in any passion.  But, if you notice, you’re the only person who lives your life everyday and that may seem like no big deal- that may seem insignificant.  But, my sweet, sweet friend…God wants to make your little life, into something far greater than you could ever imagine.

He doesn’t call us to BIG things: he makes the little things BIG.

xo

AnnaFilly

P.S. Aren’t these photos lovely?  Desirea Still captured the whole conference through her lens.  You can view more of her incredible work HERE.

P.S.S. You may or may not notice that Hannah Brencher and I have an album all to ourselves- that may have made my week 😉