A few days ago, I noticed a small dirt mound in the garden. So I took a closer look and discovered it was being built by some ants.
We have variety of types of ants here, but the most common is a large black ant about 10mm long. On this occasion they seemed to be either extending their subterranean tunnels or else had some kind of internal collapse down in their dirt city, because they were very active in bringing dirt to the surface.
My curious nature drew my gaze closer, and to my amazement I realised there was a constant stream of ants each bringing one grain of dirt from an underground tunnel, dropping it on the mound and then scurrying back down their hole to get another grain.
I have no idea how they knew who was to put which grain where, as they were not all going to the same spot on the mound, but rather to various places all over it to drop their individual grains.
I counted a 'drop rate' of 15 grains being dropped each minute with never a pause in the rhythum ! - In and out of their hole and up an down their little mound.
I guess there could have been millions of grains of dirt in their mound but the size of the task didn't seem to daunt them! They just kept on with the task one grain at a time.
So yes, I just 'had' to get the camera and record this minature mining venture! Unfortunately its a bit hard to see the individual grain between their front pincers.
These little ants were such a profound object lesson as I watched. At some point just a few days before these little guys had started clearing out their tunnel one grain at a time. Through consistent perseverance and hard work they were getting the job done.
How often do tasks seem insurmountable to us?....we feel we are only one person and only able to 'carry' one grain's worth of work or effort. But one grain after one grain after one grain, alongside another grain collector, and another and another who are doing the same thing, can accomplish amazing feats in a very short time. Those little ants just pressed on doing the next thing and the next thing and the next thing.
It's a bit like a song I learnt as a kid that has a line in it which says 'don't stare up the stairs, just step up the steps, little by little inch by inch'.
Just taking life one step at a time can accomplish amazing feats. While keeping the big goal in mind, the key is to just keep the next little task as the focus. As Elizabeth Elliot has said 'just do the next thing'. Carrying one grain may not seem like some mountain moving accomplishment, but with one grain at a time, these ants did actually build a little mountain of millions of grains.
Our own daily tasks and facets of ministry may seem 'ordinary' and almost 'insignificant' sometimes at times. But as we go step by step, speaking truth to hearts one word and one life at a time, we know in God's purposes, as we go along how and when He wants us, He can direct accomplishments massively greater than the one little grain we think we are involved with. That's very humbling indeed.
Scripture says that those who are faithful in little will be faithful in much - but sometimes the 'little' will be actually accomplishing the 'much' without us even realising. Those little ants didn't know how to do anything except the little task of carrying single grains of dirt, but it was all that was needed to be able to build an 'ant mountain'. God looks for the weak to show His strength, the least to accomplish the greatest, the last to make first, the shamed to honour, the lowly to exalt. God doesn't need us to think we must be able to be 'mountain movers' but rather one grain movers under His direction!
God tells us in Scripture to go to the ant and to consider their ways as part of learning wisdom and avoiding the pitfalls of laziness. Ants have a lot of lessons to teach us.
Little by little, one grain at a time, is one of those lessons.
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