No Assignment Is Insignificant

I live in the small historic mining town of Jacksonville, Oregon. Our community is immersed in the early history of Oregon. Gold was first discovered here in the 1850’s within a block of our home. Miles of hiking trails form a necklace that surrounds our little town. Each week, on a specific day, I have an appointment with God to hike the trails that crisscross the woodlands above our home. I walk and listen. There is a seasonal creek running through the woodlands. It’s called Jackson Creek. In the mid-1800’s miners from around the world descended on our town to seek the gold the hills and creek beds possessed. Miners used water from Jackson Creek to run their sluices, hydraulic giants and to wash the sediment from their pans. 

This week, as I walked along the trail that borders Jackson Creek, I stopped and took a photo. In my pause, I thought of where this little creek would travel in its journey. Later, when I returned home, I pulled up a map on my computer screen and saw that Jackson Creek flows out of Jacksonville for several miles before it joins Bear Creek and eventually merged its flow with the Rogue River that empties into the vast Pacific Ocean. Small streams always lead somewhere to become part of something larger than itself.

No matter the size of the stream God has assigned you to walk alongside, your journey will always be connected to something larger than itself. There is never a definition of insignificance attached to what you are doing for God – no matter how small it might seem. It is not the size of the stream you are part of that determines your significance. Your significance comes from the One who directs its flow.