During a more quiet moment on Christmas vacation, I watched my soon-to-be six year old grandson take a fine-pointed colored pencil and meticulously fill in the lines of an adult coloring book. He focused, chose the shade wisely, and did a great job. For a young man his age I was impressed. If you looked at his work, you would be too. (You would also see that a lot more needed to be done when he jumped up from the table to run around the room with his brother and cousins). His efforts reminded of how important the small things are in the overall scope of our lives. During this time of year we have fun speculating on the great things that await us in the year ahead, making promises to make big changes. While extravagant New Year’s resolutions are fun, in reality it is not usually the grandiose goals that come to fruition. It more often true that the culmination of many small, almost mundane steps are what make the biggest difference. I need reminded of that. It’s sometimes hard to do the little things. There’s nothing to celebrate, no great achievement to report, no applause from the gallery. A retrospective view gives insight. When I look back over the years, most of them did not include a monumental event. Yet, over time, movement forward can clearly be seen and many positive outcomes resulted: I love you said every night, the clean clothes, the dinner on the table, the many conversations at home and work to resolve problems, the organizing and training efforts to make things better. It all paid off and sometimes in big ways. Amen. What’s your goal this year? Dream big for sure, but don’t discount the payoff for doing the little things well. They just may provide the springboard for that giant leap you’re waiting to take!
Amy Wildman White 