The Little Things

"“Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:21

The strangest things get me to ponder scripture...like clean dishes.  Last night there were dishes in the dishwasher to be put away, but there were also clean dishes in the dishdrainer that needed to be put away. However, the cabinet under the counter where the dishdrainer dishes needed to go was all cluttered and needed to be re-organized....so...the clean dishes didn't get put away; the dishwasher dishes didn't get put away and the dirty dishes didn't get put into the dishwasher last night.  (Follow that? :-)  In this case one small step blocked another, and another.  And the whole process would take more energy than I had last night. 

I've learned through the past months and years, that small steps are helpful when working with chronic illness.  Now, I know Jesus wasn't talking about my clean or dirty dishes when he told this parable originally, but as someone who has always seen the big picture, Jesus' words about being faithful in small things makes mre sense to me now.

I've always known that little things work together in the big picture, but when I had seemingly boundless energy I didn't pay attention to the daily "small" things. Now each small thing takes energy and I'm more aware of the step by step connections around me. One of the odd gifts of this chronic health journey has been the opportunity to see and appreciate small steps.  There's a simplicity that has been important for me to embrace-- and it has touched other parts of my life:  appreciating the excitement of checking our raspberry bush every day as we wait for the berries to ripen; enjoying the gentle contentment of our big dogs sleeping and snoring in the living room; seeing our children make small, yet meaningful steps in their lives; the comfort of a soft bed at night. 

 Since I'm a BIG picture person, the how-to of small steps doesn't come easily to me. I've learned much about how to take small steps from a woman named Marla Cilley otherwise known as The Flylady at http://www.flylady.net/
She gives a wonderful plan for approaching housekeeping chores step by step, and I highly recommend  her approach.  It has helped me not just with the house, but continues to teach me to approach each day, bit by bit. Faithfulness in small things, small steps in our health and activities every day can be helpful when living with long term illness.
What tips do you have for approaching the tasks of life while coping with illness?  I would love to hear your comments and ideas.

Dear Lord, when daily life overwhelms and the tasks of life become too much as we wrestle with illness, help us to see small steps that we can do, and give us the patience to tackle things a bit at a time. May these lessons of patience also teach us patience with ourselves and our growth in faith. Amen.