Kevin Elko is a motivational speaker. Recently he shared the story of when he was asked to go to a speaking engagement. When he got to the airport, his driver never showed so he had to take a taxi. After arriving, he asked, “What happened to my driver?” He was told that the driver’s daughter woke him up in the middle of the night. At this point, Dr. Elko interrupted and said, “My daughter wakes me up and bothers me constantly to ask me this and that and to tell me she can’t sleep.” The person responded, “No, she wasn’t feeling well so the father gave her Nyquil, not realizing she was diabetic, and she died last night.” Kevin Elko said he has never let his daughter’s waking him up bother him again. It’s all about how you look at it, it’s all about perspective.
If only we could learn to have perspective about life. Life is made up of the little things that we often overlook or take for granted.
In Zechariah 4:10 we read, For who has despised the day of small things?
Kevin Elko made the following observation. See a little, see a lot; See a lot, see nothing. This is looking at the little things with the proper perspective.
Mother Teresa said that when she thought of the masses she did little, but when she thought of one she always acted. That is perspective.
We have recently witnessed powerful destruction from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Seeing the masses who are suffering loss makes us feel so helpless. But what if we could reach out and help just one person? Does that make the task seem less daunting?
Galatians 6:10 encourages us to look for the opportunities to do good. Much of the time those opportunities present themselves in small ways.
Perhaps you have heard the story of the man walking along a beach in the early morning hours. He was picking up starfish every once in a while and throwing them back into the water. On observing this for a few minutes a young man asked him what he was doing. The older man explained that when the sun came up it would dry the starfish and it would die. The younger man noted that with the thousands of starfish on the beach it wouldn’t make any difference for him to pick up a few. But the older man explained as he threw another one back, “It made a difference to that one.”
Pay attention to the small things. Look for opportunities. See a little. Strive to make a difference to one person today.