The (Not So) Little Things

Deborah Lewis

Sometimes the little things are the big things. I was recently thanked for two actions: my company and my support. I enjoy and love other people, so spending time with someone is fun. I am an exhorter, so I naturally build others up. I could do it in my sleep. Neither of those require much effort on my part. However, the gratitude expressed, the fact that someone important noticed and responded touched me deeply. A student that helps another student, a person who opens the door when your hands are full, are tiny often absent minded occurrences, but to the recipient they are kindnesses that evokes smiles and momentary joy.

I would often contemplate when I saw the, “All Employees Must Wash their Hands Before Returning to Work” sign at a restaurant. Is that a good thing, that they are proactive, or a bad thing that they need to be reminded? A new twist was added to my question when someone pointed out that it was a law. They had to do it. Still, washing hands is a little thing that’s actually a big thing. Doctors and medical personnel that wash their hands between every patient are fending off the spread of disease and infections. They’re actually saving lives and keeping people safe!

Our world is complex. We are interrupted by 24 hour new cycles, social media, and cellphones. Issues and information bombard our senses just as much as we will allow. In some ways we’re losing touch with the people and events right next to us, right across the table. We think things need to be significant to warrant our attention.

I don’t care if you like or dislike McDonald’s. The founder, Ray Koch, made a point that I have incorporated into my lexicon. Since I teach elementary school students, I utilize a slightly adjusted version, “Keep it simple Simon! I think we could stand to reconsider the simplistic. Things like manners, patience, boredom, and downtime. Just to name a few.

What are the small things in your life, that are actually the big things? I want to you to identify them. Then, increase the frequency of one or two. Smell the roses, dance in the rain, call your mother, flush the toilet! I don’t care how minuscule. It might be a truly significant to someone or just add a smile to your own face. A smile, after all, is a simple, beautiful thing that we could all benefit from!

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Published by Deborah Lewis

Don't ever give in. Don't ever quit. Don't ever surrender. What gives me the right to say that? Mountains of impossibility that I have walked through: 6 1/2 years of infertility, an adoption that did not go through, two seasons of helping raise other people's children, a miscarriage, paid back every cent of 85K of debt, crisis pregnancy, raising a special needs daughter, the death of that daughter, divorce etc... With every challenge came real wounds, but something else in juxtaposition to the scars: wisdom, and treasure. Real riches found on very broken paths. Some of my closest friends have caught my tears big, wet, snotting up, warm tears, but they have also "seen" the gifts acquired along the way. They have experienced hope in hopeless situations. They have gleaned tenacity in unbearable circumstance. And to be VERY CLEAR this is not because I am strong, very much the opposite. I KNOW how weak I am. Don't give up. Don't give in. Don't surrender. "For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You." 2Chron 20:12. My mom would say, "Shoulders back, chest out!" I would add to that, fix your eyes on the only One who declares, "You are more that a conqueror!"

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