Even the smallest person can change
the course of the future.
J.R.R. TOLKIEN
Our dog Squitchey weighs just seven pounds. She looks like a Yorkie, but she acts like a Dalmatian. We found out she has both breeds in her lineage when my husband’s sister had Squitchey’s DNA analyzed as a birthday gift. She may be small, but she does her size proud. She holds her own with our Welsh corgi, Stuart, who is four times her weight. He is the alpha dog between them, but if he doesn’t share quickly enough, she fights for her rights in playful, vigorous ways.
Thanks to her compact size, Squitchey can easily dig her way out from under the fence in our backyard. She doesn’t go far; she seems to want to guard our home. She tries to walk quickly around it and then crawl back under the fence before we see her. When we do catch her, my husband, Steve, immediately fills up her latest hole with rocks and dirt. It doesn’t seem to bother her. She just waits for the next opportunity and digs her way out at another place.
Squitchey’s favorite thing to do after a long day of protecting is to jump up on Steve’s lap as he sprawls in his easy chair. Much as she loves acting like a big dog, she seems to enjoy and appreciate the comfort of being small. Stuart tries to jump on laps too, but when he lands, he feels more like a bulldozer than a dog.
As canines go, Squitchey is short stuff. As humans go, so am I. Two of my very special friends are much taller than I am. That’s not saying a lot considering I am only five feet, four inches—but Cory and Susie are both several inches taller. When we go places together, I often wish I were as tall as they are so I could get into tall vehicles without help. As it is, they hop into Susie’s pickup and then drive to the curb where I am standing so I can climb in.
I’ve also wished I were tall enough to reach items on a high shelf by myself. I’ve had to ask for help to get a glass out of Susie’s cupboard. Since I’m also arthritic, moving is even a challenge for me. Squitchey can jump four times her height and run in circles forever, but if I turned around too fast, I’d fall down.
But even though I’m vertically challenged and can’t move as fast as Squitchey does, I can still get quite a bit done in a day. Then, at night, my favorite place to be is snuggled next to Steve for a peaceful sleep.
Being short and loving Steve’s company is pretty much the extent of the likeness between Squitchey and me. But God made each of us the way we are for His purposes. Squitchey will remain close to seven pounds for the rest of her life. If she were a Dalmatian, she might not be the sweet little lap dog that she is. I could complain about my height, but doing so wouldn’t change a thing. And who knows? God might have something special for me to do that I couldn’t if I were tall.
That was certainly the case for a man named Zacchaeus. What he’s best known for is being a “wee little man.” He was also rich and an unscrupulous tax collector. God made him a little guy so He could emphasize this man’s huge desire to see Jesus. In Luke 19, we read that Zacchaeus was so anxious to see the Lord that he climbed up into a sycamore tree so he could look over the crowd’s heads. Jesus saw Zacchaeus’s great longing and told him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). Zacchaeus repented of his cheating ways and followed Jesus. This short man’s story has a big place in the Bible to this day.
Squitchey acts like a big dog at times, but she also enjoys her diminutive size, and it makes her a perfect lap dog. Being short doesn’t mean God shortchanged me or Squitchey, or Zacchaeus, either. He made each of us unique and for a unique purpose—and no matter what our size, we can stand tall in our hearts knowing we are His creation.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well (Psalm 139:14).
In what ways—height or others—do you feel short-changed? How have you seen God use who you are for His unique purposes? Are you standing tall in your heart as His unique creation? If not, will you ask Him to help you do so?