Little Things

by Andrew Cromwell

Little things become big things. It is such an obvious observation that I hesitate to mention it. Little children grow up. Little trees become giant towers. Little beginnings often become significant legacies.

Most things are designed to grow. When something doesn’t grow, we automatically search for the reason. This is the nature of things. This is true with living things, but it is also true with problems.

Have you noticed that little problems often become big ones when they are left to themselves? A friend recently shared with me that he ignored a small problem in his car, telling himself it was too expensive to deal with at the moment. Now he’s paying five times that amount in repairs when that little thing became a big thing.

The Apostle Paul said, “A little bit of yeast works its way through the whole dough.” Bakers know that you don’t need to add much yeast, because by its very nature yeast affects everything it comes in contact with. It’s like a single drop of food coloring in a pitcher of water—in just moment the whole pitcher blooms in color.

A local farmer told me about a time he was irrigating. He couldn’t figure out where his water was going. The trees should have been standing in a foot of water, but they weren’t. As he poked around in the mud to try and find out why, suddenly the ground caved underneath him and carried him down the hill. Fortunately he was alright, and he found his water. A little gopher hole had carried it away to a patch of sand where it had quickly been sucked down.

A small engine leak, an unpaid bill, a relationship that is just a little off kilter—all are small things, but they can turn into huge things if ignored for too long. Deal with it now and you save yourself pain and expense later. It’s up to you.

So what have you been ignoring, just hoping that by doing so it will go away? Perhaps it’s time to take your medicine so that you don’t have to swallow the whole bottle later!