The Queens of Small Things
One day you wake up and realize you’ve lived your whole life among royalty. I’ve discovered that I’ve been walking among ladies from a particular branch of the Royal House of the King for decades now. Ever heard the saying “She leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes”? These queens leave a trail! They’re the Queens of Small Things.
There was the mom of one of my high school besties who drove across town to my house to console me when our family blew up – for the third time. And that sweet queen checked on me every day for months.
Another friend’s mom quietly slipped a little spending money into my hand when I went to camp, knowing a single dad probably hadn’t thought to do that and honestly couldn’t afford it. This was the same queen who years later invited me to the mother-daughter banquet at her church to celebrate Mother’s Day in the early years of my own motherhood journey.
Queens poured out of the woodwork to serve our young family when our baby boy was born with a heart defect. They cared for us for months until life settled down, juggling their own family responsibilities while going the extra mile for ours.
A call, a note, a text containing the exact Scripture I needed to hear. A meal dropped off, flowers on the porch, love sent in a package “just because.” Remembering special dates – not just my birthday, but hard days when loss scrawled heavy notes on the calendar of my heart. The Queens of Small Things remembered and loved me through them all.
I suspected those gals were a special breed when they consistently and thoughtfully did or gave or said the perfect thing at the perfect time. But when I saw that I wasn’t the only recipient of their kindnesses – that these ladies did or gave or said the perfect thing at the perfect time everywhere they went – well, that completely blew their cover!
They were members of a Royal Family acting under the authority and guidance of the King – using His resources, strength, and power to spread His light and love into every corner of the world. Although some of their acts might be considered “big,” they specialized in small things – consistent acts of compassion and selflessness that piled up into layers of love and care, all pointing to the heart of the King.
Why didn’t I see it sooner? Because the Queens of Small Things dress like us normal folk, live incognito among our communities, and are content with a simple life. They defer credit and give all honor to the King, and their hearts are happy to do so.
And how does the King feel about such “small things” when He’s opened the storehouses of heaven to them? When His wealth, favor, and power are at their disposal? Surely, He’s searching for grandiose and large and magnificent. Right?
Not exactly. In Zechariah 4:10, the King asks, “Who dares despise the day of small things?” He looks to His Royal Family and knows that they do their work, “not by might nor by power, but by (His) Spirit.” (Zechariah 4:6b) And His Spirit uses every “small thing” as a building block in the great Kingdom of God.
I thank God for the Queens of Small Things and His grace in sending them into my life at every age and stage. Have you encountered royalty lately? Friend, they live among us, and they’re inviting you into the Kingdom with every “small thing” they bring to you as a gift from the King.
