Every year Mount Everest gets a little taller. The peak is already the highest in the world, at roughly 29,029 feet above sea level. But over millennia, it has risen another 50 to 165 feet—and its elevation continues to grow.

New research suggests that in Everest’s region of the Himalayas, the Earth’s crust is rebounding. This is a phenomenon that occurs when a huge weight that has been pressing down on the surface is removed. The relaxing of the crust in this area started thousands of years ago. With a lightened load, the crust bobbed upward, as a boat might after unloading cargo. The rebound adds about 0.2 to 0.5 millimeter to Everest’s height above sea level each year.

Of course, that doesn’t seem like much. But as one of the co-authors of the study, a geologist, said, “[The growth] seems so insignificant, but then you pile it up over [the years] and you get amazing things happening.”

Possible Preaching Angle:

In the same way, our spiritual growth may seem slow and tiny, but over the years, as the geologist put it, “you get amazing things happening.”