The Small Stuff
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19
We do sweat the small stuff! Even the things that have not yet happened (and probably won’t) seem to throw us for a tailspin. Reactive living has taken the place of proactive lifestyles. Read what Max Lucado says about this from book How Happiness Happens.
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During the celebration of his thirtieth wedding anniversary, a friend shared the secret of their happy marriage. “Early on, my wife suggested an arrangement. She would make all the small decisions and would come to me for all the major ones. “Wouldn’t you know that all these years have passed, and we haven’t had one major decision.”
Facetious, for sure. Yet there is wisdom in acknowledging the relatively small number of major decisions in life. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and you won’t sweat much at all.
During the next few days, you’ll be tested. A driver will forget to turn on his blinker. A passenger on the airplane will talk too loudly. A shopper will have fifteen items in the “ten items or less” checkout line. Your husband is going to blow his nose like a foghorn. Your wife is going to take her half of the garage in the middle. When they do, consider whether or not it’s just small stuff.
Don’t give up your joy or theirs over something that’s not worth sweating.
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Following this criterion, we will seldom sweat. However, it takes practice to get to this point because…well, we want our own way. We want to be right, don’t we? When we butt heads with the issues of daily living, just sing along with this song: Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing our God cannot do—for You.
The tension rolls off from us. Our perspective of life is more up-beat and we tend to walk with a confident spring in our step. This is all because we still have our joy even in the heat of the moment.
Heavenly Father, You alone are the answer to our daily situations. We confess that we don’t always come to You first and we stumble and bumble around as we turn molehills into mountains. Thank You for being everything we need, hope for, and desire. Please help us not to sweat! AMEN.