It's the little things...

Truth becomes cliché simply because it is truth. Money truly can't buy happiness, Love IS all we need, and bananas are gross (ok, maybe that's just me). A cliche is true everywhere all of the time.

Santa, without argument, is a walking cliche. This red-suited symbol of Christmas cheer represents joy, peace, and all our hopes for a better world.

And he is that way because of one other cliche...

"it's the little things that count"

See, it's the subtleties if a look or a smile that make a kid believe. Nervous kids become calm from a simple question about a favorite toy or something on their shirt. I could bring out an entire circus of delights and they won't have as much positive effect as a 3 second debate about fast vs slow race cars.

I have been preparing a sermon that uses the text from Matthew about the wise men. It's only found in Matthew and, admittedly, it's odd. Magic men from a far off land following a star to the place where the son of God is born.

Hmmmm....

There is a ton of research on who these guys were and what star this was. They were clearly astrologers, probably told by the biblical Daniel about the coming Messiah and what to look for, but you would be amazed by the amount of research done on this star. Candidates include supernovas, comets, and the alignment of planets.

People are again looking for something big...but they can't find it.

I've come to believe that the star these men saw was tiny...almost unnoticeable unless you were looking for it. The text says it showed up with the morning and led them across the sky. A small, but not insignificant star chosen for the greatest task in the universe

That sounds more like the God I've come to know.

In my life I've stopped looking for the supernovas. I'm enjoying the subtleties of the still small voice that seems to guide my life and leave good things in my path.

It's the little things that make all the difference...and it's the little things that will lead us to him.