The Office finale revels in the small things

"I thought it was weird when you picked us to make a documentary, but all in all, I think an ordinary paper company like Dunder Mifflin was a great subject for a documentary. There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kinda the point?"

On that appropriate note from Pam Beasley Halpert, The Office ended its nine year run on NBC.

The small things were the point of the BBC remake. After all, it was a show set mainly in a nondescript office building in Scranton, PA and focused on the working lives of people selling paper.

You saw the silliness and somberness of everyday life. Practical jokes and family tragedies. Budding relationships and unaware selfishness. It was all on display. The Office was about enjoying those small things that make up real life.

In the finale, viewers of the documentary around which the show was based, asked questions of the Dunder Mifflin employees. Most of the questions centered around Jim and Pam, their relationship, their marriage and the difficulty they had over the past year.

Jim shuffled nervously as women came to the microphone and spoke of how amazing they thought he was, many even chastised Pam for not following Jim wholeheartedly in a dream of his. She responded that it all seemed like a fairy tale to those on the outside watching, but to her, it didn't always seem like a fairy tale. Sometimes it was really hard, but in the end it was better than a fairy tale.

That's it. That is this life that we have been given. Looking in at the lives of others, things often seem so organized and perfect, but no story is a perfect fairy tale. We all face issues, which we can allow to destroy our story or turn it into something so much greater than a fairly tale - a real tale about real things.

Seinfeld, NBC's previous comedy hit, was "a show about nothing." The nihilistic perspective didn't elevate the small things, it brought everything down to nothingness.

Instead, The Office found the beauty in the ordinary, in the small and overlooked. Every day life was not nothing. It had value no matter what it brought.

As Oscar, another of the Scranton employees, thinks back over his time there, he likens it to, obviously enough, a piece of paper. It seems so normal and boring, but if you look at it just right, with a couple of folds, you can see beautiful origami.

Theologically, The Office is right. There is such beauty in small and ordinary things. As I walked to work after the show, the clean, sweet smell of honeysuckle blossoms drifted through the air. Now, there was nothing remotely special about that scent at that moment. It happens every summer. Yet, it caused me to stop for a moment and rejoice in a creative Creator who valued beauty in small things.

Life is full of beauty. Yes, this world is fallen and bad things happen. The Office did not shy away from negative circumstances befalling its characters. In the end, however, life is worth it. There is such joy in discovering the beauty that remains in creation and exists in humans created in God's image.

There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn't that kinda the point?

It sure is, Pam.