All Creatures GREAT and Small. A Note From Jan.

Small talk.

She said, “Felt like I’d gained weight so bought a size 12 for the event. Too big. Sent it back and ordered a 10, my usual. Too loose. An 8 for sure. How can this be?! Finally, a size 6. A little bit big in the armpit but workable.”

Workable?! Workable’s a tent with a drawstring. Workable’s an elastic waistband. Workable’s a caftan for two.

She reads CaringBridge.  She knows some of my secrets. Like buying  a swimsuit. Mis-fitting rooms with wraparound mirrors. Talked about that, too. Next thing we’re laughing. Together.

She in her size 6 and me in my size. Plusses and minuses. Friends. Opposites attract. She, tall and slender. I, a contrast.

Not bad. Different. No shame. True of more than sizes and shapes, isn’t it?

Jud and I, different in so many ways. Miss those contrasts, challenges, comforts. Vive la Difference!

As for clothes and body shapes… “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not LIFE more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

Ahh, sweet reminders to “not worry.” Worry wrinkles more than the brow. Thank you, God, for coming with words… fear-reducing, anti-worry, pro-trust words.  Reminders to “not sweat the small stuff,” small talk, small sizes.

Trust. So much comes down to trust. To trust the One who made “All things bright and beautiful All creatures GREAT and small All things wise and wonderful The Lord God made them all.”

We’re not just talking birds and bees, elephants and wooly worms. This is about us. Me. You.

Cecil F. Alexander’s hymn continues: “He gave us eyes to see them And lips that we might tell How great is God Almighty, Who has made ALL things well.”

All things. All creatures Flying, crawling, blooming, standing, even ones limping along. God’s GREAT and God’s small creations. All plusses with God. I like that….always preferred adding to subtracting.