The Little Things

“A fool always loses his temper, But a wise person holds it back.” Proverbs 29:11 NASB

“No matter what type of anger or frustration we have to struggle with, a clear picture of how our faith in God is the answer to anything we need to overcome.” – Carol Graham

Small things don’t matter until you’re in bed with a buzzing mosquito! Or death by a thousand paper cuts. Familiar?

They say, “It’s the little things that matter.” It’s true. The little treasures and gifts of the day like praise, hugs, losing a couple of pounds, or a special card in the mail boosts our spirits.

It’s the little things that can ruin our day too.

Frustration is those annoying, itching, biting mites interfering with our goals, rest and peace. It’s so remarkable that people can handle catastrophes, tragedies, and pain better than the daily nits that poke at us. An urgent phone call in the middle of a meeting, a child throwing up in class, or a flat tire on the way to work are those little bugs that throw the whole day out of kilter. Worse, our attitude goes down the drain and it spreads.

Control. I have, once again, fooled myself into thinking I have it. The big obstacles of life are so hard, it’s true, but we give ourselves grace and admit we do not have control over life and death, tornadoes, or floods. We pray. We give ourselves a bit of compassion. We seek assistance. We pray for each other. More importantly, we get back up, dust ourselves off, thank the Father, and start again. It’s the same for the little, annoying, and frustrating things. Life is so full of these! And many times throughout our day. Right now I have a very old cat, she’s 23 or 24 years old, and she gets disoriented and yowls in a panic. Yep, another thing to bug me. But how many years of pleasure has she given me? A flat tire once saved me from a messy accident.

Musings

The termites, mites, paper cuts, gnats and bugs of life. These are what cripple our spiritual walk and our joy. The daily “what nows” of life humble us. The belief that we should have control and do have control over the little annoyances deceives us. Perhaps, that’s the point. Let’s start all over again… With grace. They are small things compared to the eternal picture.

Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for your wisdom, grace, and counsel in the big and the little things. We consider little things annoyances and frustrations, but they are the daily disciplines of being more like your Son. Sometimes they are blessings in disguise. No matter what happens today, you are with us and we can joyfully, and with a bit of humor and humility, have a good day. Jesus took the world as it is. We need to do this too.

Amen.