So many crumbs. So little time.
I find myself more irritated by the amount of crumbs I find scattered all over the kitchen counter and floor than I am by the big messes around my house. It seems that no matter how many times I swipe down the counters with a cleaning rag, there are still crumbs that I miss! I am convinced they reproduce and multiply when I'm not looking.
Isn't that kind of like life? We prepare ourselves for the BIG stuff that comes our way, but those little irritations and frustrations can send us right off the edge. We think, perhaps, that faith and trust and obedience are characteristics that we need only to pull out and exercise for the major life changes and catastrophes that come our way. However, faith, trust and obedience can only mature and develop if we will simply persevere through the crumby battles of life.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
Don't let the crumbs take you down. Yes, dealing with the little things can be so hard, but it is through perseverance that our faith, trust and ability to obey grows deeper...stronger. I don't know about you, but I really want to face the hard stuff with maturity of faith...and pure joy.
It may be a crumby battle, but those crumbs don't have to win.
Take each mundane frustration, and trust God to see you through it, even if it is simply wiping down your counters for the um-teenth time.
And when the BIG stuff comes your way, because it will, consider it joy. You have persevered. You will be made complete.