Little Things

Sometimes it's a flower...a little hello...a quiet hallelujah...a gentle nudge to be grateful for small blessings.

It was just a little flower. Half the size of my usual hibiscus blooms. But I was so glad to see it since my plant hasn't been doing well lately. Half a bloom is better than none at all. And I saw in this small bloom a truth of life that has come even more clear in recent months. 

Be thankful for small blessings.

I've heard these words several times from my daughters. Both of them have amazing sons who have faced challenges in recent years.

As daughter Lyn mothers a 23-year-old son with Aspberger's Syndrome, the years have taught her to look for signs of progress—no matter how small—and be happy. She home-schooled Andrew until he completed his twelfth grade requirements. He is now taking classes at the community college.

"You have to learn to appreciate the little things...the small steps," she says.

Lyn's sister, Becky, is also well-acquainted with small victories. Her son, Nathaniel, is deaf and has two cochlear implants. We marvel at how well he has adapted to his challenge, but it surely hasn't been easy. Another road paved with little things...baby steps, often marked by steep learning curves as he adapts to the technology that gives him hearing. 

And grandmothers see these quiet hallelujahs in half a bloom of an ailing hibiscus plant. 

Because that's how Life works. 

However small it is, God's got it.