Keep Small Matters Small

Good morning…

“This is a small matter,” instantly filled my mind as my half-full coffee mug just fell to the floor, staining our rug. God gave me immediate perspective as my heart, soul, and mind nipped mixed emotions in the bud, “This is a small matter.”

Larger matters are now free to receive my prayers. Our 20 year old daughter traveled 25 hours to be with our our 22 year old son in Australia, and her bag with all her belongings was lost. Her concern receives my prayer. A close friend had surgery to remove a suspicious growth, a serious surgery that will require several weeks of slow, painful recovery. She and her family’s needs receive my prayers. My heart is heavy for those for those facing their first, second, or forever Christmas mornings without their dearly love one. Those grieving a life-altering loss receive my heartfelt prayers. Unknown strangers will fall asleep this Christmas eve in a shelter, on the street, or in a jail cell, lonely and languishing. Their deep needs pull me into prayer. Reports of unrest, terror, and violence at home and abroad bombard our news. These pressing matters fill my prayers.

For me, the old adage “Don’t cry over spilled milk,” has matured into “Spilled coffee? This is a small matter.”

If we surrender our hearts to the Savior of each sin, God’s Holy Spirit can help us to keep small matters small. Nipping in the bud life’s messy mishaps, our hearts, souls, and minds can heavy-lift larger, life-giving prayers. “This is a small matter,” frees up our prayers to play a crucial role in God’s plan to rescue and redeem all of creation.

We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us… It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part (2 Corinthians 1:8-11, MSG).