The Right Stuff

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…”
(Zechariah 4:10 NLT)

It’s so important to have the right attitude – with it; we can change our reality and our future. I spent my younger years really bemoaning my lack of, well, everything. Maybe that’s an exaggeration but I just felt like I didn’t have enough of, whatever. Fill in the blank. I really didn’t appreciate a lot that I had, be it my appearance, my social status, my material possessions or my gifts and talents. Somewhere along the way, I started hearing about the “attitude of gratitude” – I could appreciate the sentiment but I still didn’t actively cultivate it. It seemed a little too simple, a little patronizing, a platitude, even. I didn’t see it as something that could change my life.

I really haven’t had many car accidents in my life, fortunately. But the big one that I had was a doozy. Not because it changed me physically, but because it caused a shift in my way of thinking. I was shook up and initially devastated over the damage to my car, but I walked away from the experience thankful. The ambulance driver helped to put it in perspective for me. In retrospect, I wonder if he was an angel. I never got his name but he was just so kind to me that I’ve never forgotten him. While I lay on the stretcher in the back of the ambulance, I felt helpless as my children looked on. That’s a position that, as a mother, you never want to be in – you always want to be able to protect your children. But I tried not to let my panic show because my kids were so small.

I thought about the mess I’d made of things, my car was damaged – how would I get to work? My kids were frightened and I was a mess. Tears welled up in my eyes and I wept, silently. The ambulance driver wiped my tears and asked gently, “Why are you crying?” I told him, “Because I’ve messed up everything!” I broke my car, I broke my head, and everything was all jacked up. He was so kind to me and my children. I don’t know why. He stroked my head and spoke words of comfort to me, letting me know to not worry about the loss of material things. That I was ok was the important thing. And he took care of my children by keeping them close to me, knowing that even seeing their mother in her bleeding state, they would be comforted. It’s been said that people will often forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Yeah. I have never forgotten his kindness and am forever grateful for him. He ministered to us during our time of need. I figured he must have been an angel.

I was cleaned up, stitched up and sent home, battered but bettered by the experience. I just saw God’s hands in the whole of it, moving on my behalf, turning what was meant for evil into something good. That’s when I knew He loved me. I saw the accident again in my mind and I saw his hand – cushioning the blow and protecting us. I thought about how much worse things could have been and I was grateful. But my kids were still pretty shook up. While I was recovering and lying in the bed, they came to me one day, relived the accident and talked about how scary it was. My son asked, “Mama, why did God let that happen to us?” I didn’t even hesitate to answer him because, just at that moment, I knew. I put into words what I had not dared to say. I was still wrapping my head around it. “Baby, God didn’t make that happen – it was God who protected us.” I saw understanding dawn in his eyes. “Mama, why did he do that?” “Because,” I simply replied, “He loves me.” I was crying again because I knew, as I voiced it, it was true.

That accident was a literal and figurative knock on the head. That’s when God truly got my attention. I imagine now how different my life would be if I hadn’t learned two lessons then: to see and be grateful for what he is doing and to trust that he loves me. Other lessons have followed but the foundation was laid in those early, essential, elementary lessons. From these lessons sprang my understanding of the Parable of the Talents (See Matthew 25:14-30) and how it is important to for us to appreciate what God has given us. Then I understood the relationship between lack and increase and the route traversed to get from one mindset to the other. In the parable the two good servants who were “faithful over a few things” (or in small matters) were rewarded by being made “ruler over many things”, or, as the scripture is often paraphrased, “ruler over much”. One day, I had a revelation. I said to myself, how do I get to the “much”? The answer came back so quickly that I knew it wasn’t me who answered. “By being faithful over the few,” or by being appreciative of the little things.

For me, it came down to attitude, meaning, how I view what God is doing in my life, followed by gratitude or how much I appreciate it. I began to see him in everything, acknowledge and appreciate him. I began to be thankful for little things. And he began to bless me with more. I realized that I would never reach the much stage unless I was thankful for what he was doing for me right now. Gratitude, I know now, is my key to unlock and release my blessings. When I am thankful, I act accordingly. I treat my blessings with reverence, knowing that God didn’t have to give them to me. I take what he has given me, thank him for it and work to increase it, rather than complain about my lack. It makes me wonder; did he just now begin to bless me? Or did I only just now begin to see? Really see Him? What if, his hand has been in my life all along, protecting me, but my eyes were too dull to see? I think about all that I may have missed – wonderful blessings that were right in front of me. And it makes me even more determined to appreciate and enjoy blessings that I have right now. I’ve found, it’s from the little things that big things grow.

Be blessed,

Loria