Saplings and Stethoscopes 

It’s a natural human inclination to take the small parts of our lives for granted. It’s something I’ve been working on because one key to peace is experiencing those small moments. For example, when our oldest child was about four years old, my husband was just starting his own veterinary clinic. Because he worked 80-90 hours a week, he got home after the kids were in bed and left before they got up. To make up for some of this, he sometimes took one of them on a large animal call if he knew the farmer and the situation would be safer than usual (large animal work is never safe). 

On this day, he took the oldest, nicknamed Seabie, on a call. Catching the cow distracted the adults for a while. When they remembered Seabie, he had rummaged through the black bag that carried all my husband’s medicine and small instruments. Seabie found the stethoscope and had the ear pieces inserted in his ears and the other end pressed against the trunk of a sapling. 

The farmer asked him what he was doing.

Seabie replied, “Listening.”

“What do you hear?”

Seabie replied in a serious deadpan imitation of his father, “Well, the trunk is OK, but the leaves are a little bit shaky.”

Those were hard years and many times, the lighter side blessings were ignored. Small stories like this add warmth and texture to our days and illustrate how the small things make them fun and worth living. If I had paid more attention to these kinds of moments and less to the hard parts, those days would have been much better. Too many times, I ignored things like this and forgot to give thanks. 

I would like to challenge you to do life differently for the rest of this Thanksgiving season; don’t miss the small things during your days. In a small notebook you keep with you, or on your phone, record some keywords to help you remember the incidents as they happen. Any blessing from something a child said or did, a dream, an almost accident that didn’t happen at the last second, beautiful leaves that inspire awe, etc. should be recorded. 

At night, write the full incident in your journal or a thanksgiving file on your computer. In years to come, they will be a true treasure house of all the blessings the Lord has sent your way and a reminder of how good God is to you in all the seasons of your life. 

Multiplying Meat

Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERY situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:23 

Prayer and thanksgiving are necessary for a joyful Christian life. Being able to come into the presence of the awesome creator of the universe is an astounding privilege. Let me give you an example.

I was on the planning committee for a meeting and volunteered to oversee the buffet table. Part of the job was to pick up the food from the caterer an hour before the event. When we arrived, the restaurant couldn’t find any record of our order. Just before we both panicked, they located it, but it was another 10 minutes before the order came out. The kitchen sent out an invoice and not a bill with the order, so the lady at the cash register had to find a manager to figure the bill. When we finally made it to the car and back to the venue, it was ten minutes before the event. As we were hurriedly setting out the food, the chairman frowned and asked for the bill. We were short one of two trays of meat. It was time to serve and too late to call the restaurant and try to get it straightened out. Some committee members and I prayed silently for the meat to be sufficient.

The event started on time, but as the line formed and people kept coming in, I started to get uneasy, so I continued to pray. As I worked, I couldn’t help noticing how much everyone was putting on their plates. They put a LOT of food, especially meat, on their plates, so I renewed my prayers. About half way through the line, I started to notice the tray didn’t seem to be emptying as fast as I thought it should considering the number of people and the size of their servings! This bolstered my faith enough that I began praying with more consistency for the Lord to multiply the meat still on the tray. It was going down, but just not enough for what I saw being taken away. When all the guests had been through the line, there was enough for the committee members who hadn’t eaten yet to have a serving. At the end, there was no meat left, but neither did anyone go without even though we had half the meat recommended per person. 

I believe the Lord made that meat last. I watched too closely the amount taken as opposed to the amount there to believe anything else. I think the reason we don’t see more things like this, is we don’t stretch and exercise our “Prayer muscles”. We just don’t believe the Lord is interested in the more mundane areas of our lives.  Let’s resolve this Thanksgiving season to involve God in all areas of our lives, not just when it of critical personal importance or for a loved one. Praying at all times for all things demonstrates your gratitude for the gift of prayer. 

Also, remember that using what we’ve been given is the ultimate “thank-you” to the giver.