🎵Cliché Month: Don’t Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill🌋
Sometimes, It IS a Mountain
Too many times, this cliché has been used to make people feel like their issues are small or unimportant. Like the time when I was nine and had to go to the ER for a tetanus shot because we thought I stepped on a rusty map pin. Apparently, at least one sewing needle got mixed with the spilled map pins, so it turned out that I had a full-size sewing needle in my little girl foot.
Had they done an X-ray instead of deciding I was making something out of nothing (another way to state this cliché), I wouldn’t have needed surgery six weeks later to clean out the beginnings of gangrene. The doctor told us that if we had waited just three more days before coming in, he would have been gone on a three-week vacation and returned only to amputate my foot. It wasn’t a molehill at all; it was a very real mountain.
Making Everything into Mountains
The extended problem of not being listened to way back then created a lifetime of fearing that little things were bigger than they appeared. It held me back from sharing my true feelings because I anticipated bigger or worse reactions. And it intimidated me into missing out on who knows how many experiences because I was worried about outcomes that may never have come to pass.
When you learn early on that a real crisis can be brushed aside, you naturally start holding a magnifying glass up to every bump in the road, bracing for the worst.
The Real Meaning and Use of This Cliché
The phrase itself has ancient roots. Long before English speakers talked about moles, ancient Greeks and Romans warned against “making an elephant out of a fly” (ex musca elephantem facis). The English idiom emerged in the 16th century, appearing in Nicholas Udall’s 1548 translation of Erasmus and John Foxe’s 1570 Acts and Monuments as a reminder not to “make of a molehyll a mountayne.”
The true wisdom of the proverb was never meant to invalidate legitimate pain or silence genuine warnings. It is simply a reminder to examine our perspective when anxiety rises and tries to rob us of peace. It’s to bring us to a stop, look, and listen moment because fear exaggerates reality. With a few deep breaths and a second look at our situation, we can avoid turning everyday friction into insurmountable peaks.
God’s Word Brings Peace (And Boldness)
The following verse uses the word fear in almost every translation, but a better word for its original meaning would be timidity. God is not the one who holds us back and makes us doubt moving forward. He actually wants us to be bold and strong.
2 Timothy 1:7 Berean Standard Bible
[7] For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
2 Tim 1:7 (BSB)
To help us have confidence to boldly assess our hills (and mountains), He gives us soundness of mind and the clarity to discern the difference—acknowledging real mountains when faith is needed to climb them, while having the peace to step over the everyday molehills without fear.
And even if we are facing a true mountain, we never face it alone.
Isaiah 41:10 Berean Standard Bible
[10] Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (BSB)
And the very best way to avoid turning the molehills in life into mountains that seem insurmountable is to look away from the dirt and look up to Our Savior and Creator. This song is a wonderful worship song for refocusing:
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🎵Cliché Month: Stop and Smell the Roses 🌹
It seems like everything is a rush and a hurry these days. The chaos of trying to do all, be all, and have all keeps us striving on a regular basis. But does it bring the results we truly long for, like contentment and peace and happiness? And if not, how do we get there?
I think taking a detour that leads to someplace beautiful could be a great start.
Where Did “Stop and Smell the Roses” Come From?
While the sentiment feels timeless and like we’ve been hearing it forever, this modern idiom is often traced—not so far back—to professional golfer Walter Hagen. In his 1956 autobiography, The Walter Hagen Story, he wrote a famous piece of advice: “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”
I guess many people’s favorite flowers are roses, so over the decades, popular culture refined “the flowers” into “the roses.” Eventually, it turned into a universal shorthand for slowing down to appreciate the blessing of the present and whatever is going on in the moment. Even though my favorite flower is the carnation, somehow Stop and smell the carnations doesn’t have the same ring to it. 😉
It’s a Blessing to Focus on What Matters
When the pace of life becomes overwhelming, stopping isn’t just about freezing in place; it is an intentional act of redirecting our thoughts toward sensing all the goodness around us. Thinking, seeing, hearing, touching, and smelling all take just enough time to help us focus on the moment. King David needed a break like this during his time of exile:
Psalm 143:5-6 BSB
[5] I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I consider the work of Your hands. [6] I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
https://bible.com/bible/3034/psa.143.5-6.BSB
Taking that mental detour allows us to shift our gaze from the chaos of our schedules to the steady faithfulness of our Almighty Creator.
Releasing the Worry of the Rush
Much of our rushing is driven by the anxious belief that if we don’t hold everything together ourselves, things will fall apart. Anxiety isn’t just a topic on commercials advertising some new pharmaceutical relief; it’s a very real part of many lives. Even Christians with all the reasons in life to be at peace often struggle.
I don’t think I’ve shared yet about my diagnosis of severe PTSD (found when I was tested for Adult ADHD), but it has had effects on my health and in getting things done more than once. At the same time, I feel that God has given me experiences to recall and meditate on to bring balance. One of those was a trip to Niagara Falls almost 30 years ago. And it’s a story about the falls themselves that builds my peace and trust in The Lord.
Niagara Falls Erosion and Geology tells about the cracks that led to a couple major collapses at the American Falls with the major one in 1954 taking chunks of the viewing platform and railings at Prospect Point.
On my visit, I heard the story, so when I looked over the edges and saw the piled chunks of cement with pieces of the old railings sticking out, it made it very real for me. What makes it have balance is knowing how the falls became so much stronger as that collapse leaned against the crestline of the American Falls that still stands firm. And not only strength, but white water beauty was added to the scene as well.
Jesus reminds us that He is The One who governs our lives and plans to bring strength and beauty from them as well. And He gives us reason to lean into Him instead of collapsing into worry and grasping with white knuckles a railing that may not promise the safety we seek. He says…
Luke 12:25-27 BSB
[25] Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? [26] So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? [27] Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.12.25-27.BSB
If God clothes the delicate petals of a bloom with such care, we can safely pause our striving and trust Him with our days and our moments—and with our whole lives.
An Invitation to Rest in YahShua
Ultimately, pausing to notice beauty clears away the mental clutter at least long enough to hear our Savior speak. He speaks most in His written Word, so while you’re stopped to sense the blessings around you, pick up a Bible and find great and precious promises to give you new strength:
Matthew 11:28 BSB
[28] Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/mat.11.28.BSB
Whether it is literally taking a beat to stop and breathe deeply while you walk in a garden, or simply turning your heart toward quiet gratitude in the middle of a busy week, don’t forget to take a pause today. What is one small, beautiful thing you can stop and appreciate right now?
Something I appreciate is really good song lyrics. This song by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family came from a cave-in (loss of a baby by miscarriage) in her own life. May the lyrics speak to you, readers, as you need them.
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