They say the little things in life are what is important, and I agree. I find joy in the way a flower looks in the sunlight and how the colors of a sunset spring forth. I have to say, though, that not all little things are good, and a build up of bad little things sometimes drives me bonkers.
Saturday morning started with me trying to empty the dishwasher. Simple enough, right? That is, until I noticed that one of the forks was stuck. The prongs had somehow gone up through the little basket lid, and try as I might, I could not get it unstuck. I finally had to leave it and try again later.
Later in the morning, I had to refill our water bottles from a water vending machine. I parked in the grocery store lot and quickly noticed that the cart crew had done their jobs. There was not a stray cart anywhere. I had to walk a while to find one. I didn’t have any change, and I hate using credit cards for small purchases, so I tried to use a dollar bill. “Pfsht,” it went into the machine, and “pfsht,” it came right back out again. I straightened it a bit and tried again. “Pfsht” in, “pfsht” out. The third time really is the charm, I guess, because it finally worked. I pushed the cart full of water bottles back out to my car. “Squeak, squing, squeak,” went the wheels. I knew I did not want to use that cart for my actual shopping.
So, I pushed it all the way into the store, thinking of the cart crew who had previously worked so hard. I grabbed another cart out of the stack, and two carts came out. The prongs of the child-safety buckle were stuck onto the next cart. They had hooked into the wires of the seat. What is it with prongs and me, anyway? I did not have the patience to separate them. I felt bad for the cart crew member who would have to painstakingly pull those prongs out, but I tried a third cart anyway. The third time is the charm, right?
Luckily, the rest of my day went well. I reminded myself that an accumulation of bad little things does not have to ruin a day. There are people I know who are facing big and horrible situations, and that makes me grateful that my bad things are little and my good things are abundant. I am also grateful for cart crews at grocery stores.
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1