The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

It is late summer, otherwise known as tickle grass time. Its grassy seed heads seemingly pop up overnight and manage to cartwheel their way into every nook and cranny around the exterior of the house as well as the garden. They are a nuisance to a well-tended lawn, something some of us have yet to perfect.

Another player in the late fall weed sweepstakes is the tenacious mallow. Tightly bunched and anchoredac with a muscled tap root, mallow thrives if disrespected. It can sully the best of grassy areas. In a recent wrestling match with a large mallow, it was a surprise to discover something good about the plant. Nicely tucked under its broad roundish leaves were delicate cup-shaped pink blossoms. They were worth oohing and ahhing over, though it remained easier to despise the plant rather than admit that it, too, had some degree of redeeming value.

Thus began a fostered awareness that had us looking for small things unseen that might be right in front of us. It was an exercise that yielded much fruit including blossoms on a variety of low ground covers that were neatly hidden, some small flowers that we normally take for granted, and several new ones unfamiliar to us. They weren’t exactly what you might imagine as charismatic species (most were weeds) but they brought a smile and bit of wonderment to the work at hand.

As visible as the institutional church is with its declarations and problematic dogmas, its greatest accomplishments have little to do with standing and longevity. Nearly every worthwhile movement in the church is reducible to the smallest of things, one-on-one encounters with the Divine, holy elements that reside in each of us and to whom all of us have been party. They are the moments that make life worth living and reassure us that the compassionate Kingdom of God that Jesus endorsed is within reach of all. Church, as it turns out, is not the building we go to in order to secure our place as part of an exclusive religious enclave. It is the place we go to practice being Christian. The final exam has little to do with political and positional status in the church. It is all about what we do beyond the walls of the church each day, every day.

It’s easy to get hung up on big picture theology. Many parables that Jesus shared centered on relationships, noting that when we create the smallest of common ties, the opportunity for something special arises. Hospitality in the church is critical knowing that courtesy begets courtesy. Such courtesies need not be flashy or grand or important on their surface to make a difference. They simply have to be heartfelt and authentic, something all of us are capable of doing.

Small things count in surprising ways. Never imagine you have nothing to offer. Many of the world’s greatest insights have come to light in the most insignificant arenas. Practice hospitality with one another. Take the fear out of it by learning to appreciate something of beauty in the weeds we love to hate.