Life is the little things

Life is the little things

Posted by yourfriendjaz on March 17, 2011

My wife and I just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary with a trip to Aruba. While we were there, we met a couple (who I will call Mr and Mrs A) who have been married over 40 years. I first met Mr A while soaking in the hot tub. He was excited to hear that my wife and I played tennis. I asked him if he played tennis and he said, “Gosh, no!” He said he was looking for someone to play some doubles with his wife–to keep her busy. Then he went on and on about how he and his wife spend very little of their vacation time together. After a while longer, he climbed out of the hot tub and said he had better go find out what he had done wrong in the last half an hour. Over the course of the week, we seldom saw them together. I had a nagging suspicion that he was just putting on an act, and that the two of them really are a happy little couple. But I wasn’t sure. What I was sure about was that I didn’t want my wife and I to end up like them by our 40th anniversary!

People have told my wife and I that we are so obviously, madly in love. They say they can see it in the way we look at each other. They’re right; we are madly in love. And it’s not because I’m the best, most romantic, rich or handsome husband in the world. I’m not. And she’s not perfect either. (Don’t get me wrong… she is the most wonderful woman on the planet!) I think our love blooms because it is rooted in healthy soil. Now forgive me for stepping away from overtly spiritual matters here. I’m not going to talk about our faith, Bible reading, prayer time, etc. Those are wonderful, important things. I want to deal with the mundane–the day-to-day.

For the early part of our marriage I begrudged the mundane. I resented painting, wallpapering, vacuuming, washing potatoes, slicing carrots, setting the table, busing the table, doing the dishes, folding laundry, mowing the lawn, etc. To me, all those things were keeping me from doing what I really wanted to be doing… golfing, playing tennis, riding bicycles, playing cards, watching TV, etc. I had a bad attitude because I thought those things were getting in the way of my life! Now that years have passed and I have matured, I have had an epiphany: those little things aren’t getting in the way of life… they are life! No longer do I groan and complain about the menial and mundane (well, maybe once in a while). I have learned to embrace the little things in life. Sometimes there is nothing more romantic than doing the dishes with my wife. Sometimes nothing is more spiritual than mowing my lawn and thinking about how blessed I truly am. And isn’t that at the heart of true worship?

Attitude is everything. When we have a healthy attitude about life, it puts everything into proper perspective. We can see God’s hand in the everyday things. Now add to that faith in Christ, time in the Word, fervent prayer, Christian fellowship and service to mankind. Those are not secondary things; they are primary. But if our perspective about the mundane is tainted, how can we possibly appreciate the deeper things in life?

So if you’re bogged down by the little things and you feel like life is passing you by… consider this: life is the little things.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean the catbox.