When my sisters were in middle school one of the popular assignments was to create a miniature. One of them built a tiny fabric store, with eensy bolts of cloth, and bitty spools of thread. We moved before I reached that grade, but I had my own collection of glass animals to play with. 

 

For awhile my quilting hobby swerved into the land of the little, and I fussed with eighth of an inch seams. A star no bigger than a plate with a hundred pieces had me busy for three hours, but couldn't so much as keep my chest warm. Still I loved making them. 

 

There is a quality around miniatures that pulls us in. The delicate toes of a newborn are irresistible. Baby animals can soften even the grumpiest mood. Doll houses have full grown adults enthralled for years as they furnish each room with posh detail. Children, too, fall under the spell of smallness. My granddaughter Olly plays with hers, and it was my pleasure to sew a quilt for the bed. During my phase of felting I poked her a pair of teddy bears on a picnic. 

 

There is a passage in the book Heavenly Secrets that caught my attention. 

 

"When a person lives in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor, he or she is a heaven in miniature." Heavenly Secrets 4279

 

Is it possible that we can exemplify the sweetness of that vast utopia? Are our fleeting, yet heart felt efforts to bless each other as darling to God as a doll house to a little girl?