It’s the little things in life that build a big life, isn’t it?
It’s the seemingly unimportant stuff in an ordinary existence that have the capacity to create an important and significant life story.
Contrary to popular and cultural opinion, a life that matters is not found in winning the Super Bowl.
Being named MVP of any sporting event has little to do with determining how large your impact is in history.
Your greatest impact in life is determined by how you treat those around you … your spouse … your parents … your children … your friends … the folks you work with … the people that you worship with.
It’s called your legacy.
Kindness is a rare and often overlooked commodity in the world in which we live.
We falsely believe that a 6-figure income … name recognition … cultural achievements … educational prowess … build a solid gold life.
But that’s not true.
Kindness. It’s all about kindness.
Adding a couple of other simple virtues to your bucket of kindness isn’t a bad idea, either.
How about personal discipline?
Your commitment to personal discipline has the potential to build an astounding life.
It’s really not that big of a deal to win the lottery. It’s not.
The big deal happens after you win the lottery … how will you spend all that money?
It’s really not a big deal to make millions of dollars in your lifetime. It’s not.
The big deal is discovered in what you do with the financial resources that are yours.
Will you waste it or invest it? Will you give or will you hoard?
Will you bless others or will you squander your fortune with insignificant purchases?
Leaving a personal history of lasting value is not determined by the value of the home in which you live … but it is determined by what common events take place in your home.
Is kindness valued under the roof of your home?
Are tones of love and encouragement used when dealing with conflict and tension?
Have you made it your life goal to build up and not to tear down?
It’s the little things in life that build a big life.
I am an observer of people.
I observe Super Bowl champions as well as the team and the players that do not win the trophy.
I observe presidential candidates and those who interview them.
I observe the movers and the shakers at my moment in history and I take delight in my observation of the quiet person who is living a life of unnoticeable shaking.
I observe those who are endeavoring to be the moral conscious of our society and I look on with incredulity at those who are mocking anything that smacks of virtue or honor.
And so, today, these are the thoughts that have been birthed in the heart and mind of a curious observer who desires to live momentously …
The things that I value in life will never be noticed by Wall Street, or the United Nations or a Fortune 500 company.
However, the actual things that I value this side of heaven have built a foundation of exuberant and rich living that I wouldn’t trade for silver or for gold!
So what are the little things in life that I value?
What are those little things that I have chosen to make much of in order to build a big life?
I love little arms around my neck. I’d rather have little arms around my neck than cashmere or mink encircling my entire body!
Oh! How I love spending a quiet evening with my man. The wealth that comes from eating dinner together, sharing details about our day, and then watching an old movie makes me feel all lit up inside.
A phone call from one of my children who lives thousands of miles away is better than a stamp in my passport from some exotic location.
A homemade card in the mail that is addressed to “Marmee” turns an ordinary day into a holiday for me!
An encouraging note from a friend …
An invitation to lunch …
A roaring fire in the fireplace …
A cup of steaming coffee and my Bible …
Hunkering down with a cozy blanket and a good book …
Taking a brisk walk and hearing the birds cheer me on my way …
Smelling the fragrant candle that my grandson bought me for my birthday …
Looking at the pictures of my family that are proudly posted all over my refrigerator door …
Teaching the Bible to a group of women who are hungering and thirsting simply for more of Jesus …
Laughing with my husband over the antics of one of our grandchildren …
Hearing my mom’s voice on the other end of the phone …
Using the butter dish that belonged to my grandmother …
In this world that values things that are cheap and temporary, I will take my quiet yet meaningful existence any day.
Does the winner actually take the spoil? Who cares about the spoil, anyway?!
Is bigger always better? Is it?!
Is it really true that the louder you are the better chance you have of being heard? Is it?!
I have observed that the spoil often spoils winners and the stench caused by said spoil is nauseating.
Winning is not everything … it really is how you play the game that counts.
It is in choosing to help your teammates up after a particularly rough play, endeavoring to talk kindly about your opponent, and then determining to respond with wisdom and humility to the media that builds a big life.
I have noticed that bigger is not always better.
Sometimes bigger is actually less.
I’d rather wear my mother’s unobtrusive wedding ring that represents over 50 years of loving one man than wear the rock that some movie stars wear for less than a year of marital bliss.
I believe that louder is merely … well … louder.
Louder sometimes hurts more than it helps.
I’d rather be whispered to by a voice of wisdom than shouted at with profanities and bluster.
15 minutes of fame is never worth a lifetime of compromise and puffed-up bravado.
My prayer for you today is that your life is filled with a thousand little things that enable you to build a very large and significant life.
Treasure each little thing that God gives you on your pathway to greatness and splash in the joy of your ordinary … yet uncommon … journey.
“His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master!” – Matthew 25:21
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Carol McLeod Ministries
Featured Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay
