It's the Little Things

Do you ever have one of those days when you notice all "the little things". Well, today was one of those days. And thanks to our pastor's most recent sermon on Phillippians which talked about God's desires for the local church {be united; be joyful; be gracious; be humble...}, I had a fresh heart of appreciation and grace. 

Little Thing #1.

Do you even try to go for a run with your newborn who has an 0/4 record for sleeping soundly in {or even just politely tolerating} the stroller while you run, or do you try it just one more time... and thank God for the peaceful run as she sleeps.

Don't you just want to stick your finger in that Soothie?!

Little Thing #2. 

Do you ignore {or better yet, give dirty looks to} a dad when he brings his super hungry {read: very loud} baby into the {over-crowded} Cry Room at church as your baby sleeps, or do you give him kudos once he single-handedly {literally} prepares his daughter's bottle and rocks her sweetly in the glider next to you. 

Little Thing #3.

Do you return a stranger's vicious attitude and behavior when she points something out to you that could have just been a simple comment but instead gets thrown into an ugly attack, or do you return her remarks with graceful kindness and hope that she's just having a bad morning {or hope that your response will help her to think about how she chooses to communicate with people}. 

Little Thing #4.

Do you rudely send your {overly} affectionate daughter {I call her "The Leech"} away from your baby who desperately needs to nap, or do you allow her to "tuck her in" and have "the best time of [her] life" and then thoroughly enjoy her incredibly warm smile while your baby miraculously coos herself to sleep. 

Little Thing #5.

After dropping your kids off at a friend's house who kindly offered to watch them along with her own two kids while she makes dinner just so you can go to the grocery store by yourself {yahooooo!}, do you quickly nab the parking spot closest to the store, or, because you aren't lugging a carseat and two young kids, do you take a parking spot further away and hope that that front spot goes to another mom or an elderly person. And when you discover it was a young college student driving a Boxster {what?!} that took the spot, do you choose to get your feathers all ruffled as the cold wind blows on your loooong {not really} walk to the store, or do you smile in your heart and say, "Oh well." {Maybe she was in a real hurry. Maybe.}

Little Thing #6. {And we've all been here...}

Do you quietly whisper under your breath that someone else besides you finally took the kitchen garbage out, or do you genuinely make a big deal and thank your dear husband for being so sweet and taking it out.

Life is full of choices. What we do not only affects our own life, but those around us as well. What are you going to do with "the little things" today?

.molly