_{Little Things Stack Up}
by Rachelle

I‚Äôm in a drive-thru getting my hubs‚Äô favorite: Large Dunkin‚Äô Donuts coffee w/cream & sugar. In fact‚Ä¶, ‚Äúwill you make that two large coffees?‚Äù He‚Äôll have an extra for tomorrow.

I notice the tiny, young thing behind the window begin to give me the coffee but then stop. She sets the coffee cup down on the counter, before handing the steamy goodness over to my ready grasp, and then presses down on the top--securing the lid.

Before driving off I thanked her for making sure the coffee‚Äôs lid was intact.¬† I‚Äôm clumsy.¬† I make no bones about that.¬† I‚Äôve spilled an entire cappuccino, a coca-cola flavored icee and a Chik-fil-a market salad in my passenger‚Äôs bucket seat before and I wouldn‚Äôt put it past myself to repeat that kind of drama.¬† In truth, my father‚Äôs current shakes have me nervous that I may repeat our family‚Äôs drama with Palsy.¬† Cross that bridge with Jesus‚Äô hand holding yours when and if you come to it, Rachelle.

When I thanked her, she smiled but said nothing‚Ä¶maybe she thought, ‚Äúthat‚Äôs my job. Why thank me?‚Äù It had never occurred to me, before this moment, to be so specific with my compliment. It‚Äôs a little thing, but her efficiency made the handling of a hot beverage that much more comfortable for me. She doesn‚Äôt know my history of mishaps. I sympathize with wearers of stained clothing. (RIP pearl-studded blouse with mustard down the front‚Äîman, I loved that shirt).

The little things. They stack up. That goes for positives and negatives. If I‚Äôm tabulating positives and making a point to recognize them, that‚Äôs a stack that‚Äôs going to make an impression on my life‚Äôs perspective. Currently, I‚Äôm POSITIVE that I recognize more negatives. LOL I‚Äôm a work in progress.

My dogs, Thor (a broken-jawed Chihuahua rescue) and Lady (a perfect-jawed dachshund/beagle rescue), are collectively 17 pounds of fur and fervor. When they have their eyes on me, tails are wagging and puppy kisses are available. Their love is comfort food for my soul! BUUUUT, the moment I take them outside, their eyes wander from me and the peace they experience in having me nearby is sabotaged! They‚Äôre looking for trouble--vying for a reason to go off: a squirrel on a fence-post; a cat on a fence-post; a racoon, possum or bird (yep) on a fencepost. We live next to a wooded area‚ÄîI‚Äôve even seen owls at night. But an owl (who might easily devour my 5-pound Thor) wouldn‚Äôt trifle with this Chihuahua, because his bark sirens off like an emergency broadcast system for the canines in the neighborhood. HE‚ÄôS LOUD. THEY‚ÄôRE LOUD.

I know it‚Äôs in a dog‚Äôs nature to scavenge and hunt, but these two sleep on a Tempur-Pedic with us. Thor wears puppy jammies and Lady has dibs on the nearly-empty peanut butter jars. They‚Äôre not pulling a dog sled or sniffing for drugs here‚Äîthese dogs live a life of luxury since their rescues. They should be stress-free, do their business in the sunshine and come back inside without so much as a sniff. But they LOOK for trouble.

Me too.

If I look for distractions, if I‚Äôm only noting things NOT given instead of observing what‚Äôs been received, if I‚Äôm giving an audience to the negatives in life‚ÄîI‚Äôm taking my eyes off of MY Master and not living in the reward that He‚Äôs given. I have freedom in Christ. Rachelle, re-focus and dwell on what is of good report: ‚Äú‚Ä¶whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable‚Äîif anything is excellent or praiseworthy‚Äîthink about such things.‚Äù Phil. 4:8