Whether you're spiritual, Christian or not, have you ever noticed how often we pay attention to the large blessings but forget to be thankful for the little ones? The ones so small, we wouldn't even noticed that YHWH has answered a prayer that we pray everyday - "bless me today, Father."
I sat at my office desk one morning and counted the coins in my hand, anxiously waiting to dig into my pockets to see if I could find some more. Sad to admit, I was having a hard time financially. Outside of the financial responsibilities I had as I stepped into adulthood I so desperately wanted to experience, I seemed to have a hole in my pocket. I was a saver; saving was my thing since my mother first gave me cash pan tins to fill and would always encourage me to save. I remember being the little "banker" at home, where my family members would come to borrow small amounts of money. I had a short-term lending scheme at home at a very young age! But back to the initial conversation at hand.
Sitting at the desk and counting up my two-pence, I started mapping out in my mind how I could let this money stretch for the week. I started calculating the bus fare and possible "vex" money - that "just-incase" small change you keep on your person in the event of a minor emergency. As I attempted to create a way to make this little turn to a lot, I realised that there was not much to stretch.
In the midst of my realisation, I started to feel a little sad on the inside and immediately said, "Father, provide a way for me today." It was that simple and it was without thought. I was so accustomed to saying these little words I grew up hearing my mother say that I didn't pay attention to the implications it would have as I put it out into the atmosphere. I said the prayer hoping that YHWH would listen. It wasn't a prayer of faith, it was a whisper of hope, anticipating that in the near future, an unexpected blessing would fall into my lap and deal with all the big financial challenges that created the minor ones.
But I wanted something big. I wanted the troubles to all go away at once, no small steps but right to the big ones. In the back of my mind however, I sort of anticipated that it would happen but it would take a long time than in that day! And sure enough, as the Creator always does, He wanted to remind me why I should trust Him.
The morning had just begun. It wasn't more than fifteen minutes past eight when my coworker called and without asking, told me that she had brought me breakfast. Did I forget to mention that while counting my two-pence, I realised that I forgot my breakfast at home? Right there and then, I was happy for the offer and I trusted her enough to have the food (it's good to be careful in these times). Later on during the day, I had my lunch and coming to the afternoon, I got a call from a friend asking if I was heading home early. Sure enough, I was and he told me that he would pass by and pick me up. A little after 4 p.m., he passed by, picked me up and dropped me right at home!
So imagine me, with all of my understanding of who YHWH is and His promise that there's no reason to worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34) or His command to be anxious about nothing (Phil. 4:6), I still had to be reminded that when He says in His word that He's going to something, he really would do it! Just like the Bible says, when we ask (Matt. 7:7-11), we are going to receive.
The two-pence that I was wondering how I could stretch had indeed remained untouched not just that day but for the next few days in the week. I was so concerned about receiving the big blessings that I almost lost sight of the small ones which went a long way.
I don't know who needs to hear this but there's so much little things around us we ought to be thankful for. The ability to roll over on your beds on morning and plant your feet on the flooring of your humble abords is such a blessing! Have you ever thought about that? The breath that we inhale and exhale every day is something we ought not to take for granted. Now that we do have those very small blessings, there's only one thing we ought to do - be thankful for it! Don't just look out for the bigger things but all the little things we receive, we must also be grateful for it.
Because with a grateful mindset for the little things, YHWH opens the door for the bigger and better ones.
