Big or Small?

I've been thinking lately about all the "little" things that I am asked to do to be closer to God. I think most people look at reading scriptures, saying prayers, attending church, fulfilling callings, having a testimony and many others as things that are easy to do. Since they seem so easy and simple, I tend to let them slide. It is easy to skip small things. In Sunday school, before we got into the lesson, we were talking about the need for work, in this process. If we had to physically work to build an alter to pray on, we'd probably pray harder and not take it for granted. I think that we do need to work for productive prayers and all of the other seemingly small things. If we didn't have to work for anything, we'd get nothing. Take reading scriptures for example. If I just open my scriptures and read a couple of verses and then put them down, I'm not going to get much out of the exercise. On the other hand, if I start with a prayer, read and ponder, REALLY study, then I can learn things that are there to be taught to me. I think it works that way with all of the "small" things we are asked to do to be close to God! They aren't little things. They aren't as simple and easy to do as sometimes thought! These things are worth working for! As I was typing this, I thought of the verse that says "...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6) Things can be simple and do great work in us if we work for them and allow ourselves to be lifted up by them!