Thinking Small
When my now 15-yr old daughter was younger, she had a few career aspirations that would make moms everywhere gasp. At one point she said that she wanted to be a waitress. Another time, quite boldly, she proclaimed to her grandmother that she wanted to "be the worker at the trash dump, because he gets to sit inside his little house all day and watch TV." Probably the most scandalous was the time she dressed up like a hobo, brought a yard chair and her cup to the kitchen and proclaimed that she was "the people in front of Walmart who sell money". Translation - she wanted to be one of the people outside of Walmart who asked for donations. Sigh.....my teacher's heart just died a little here 😂
But, what if she was on to something....
"Think small".....this is most certainly NOT what we tell our children as they as they step foot into kindergarten. We tell them, "You can be anything! Be a doctor, get into the NBA, be a lawyer, be President of the United States!!" What we forget to tell them is that the statistics of being a NBA player is "about three in 10,000, or 0.03 percent." (www.ncaa.org) While the chances of a child becoming famous is at best minimal, there is a high probability that he will grow up to be a parent, a care taker for an elderly parent or disabled child, a waitress, or "the man who works at the trash dump." Are we teaching our children that they are failures if they grow up and find out that they are not featured in Fortune 500?
"Thinking small" is a concept that has morphed around in my head for some time now. I believe we can learn something spiritually from "thinking small". God has been working on me for a while to finally get the concept. Let me give you a little background. It's 1995. I just returned from a 2 month summer missionary trip in Mexico with a group from college. After returning, I had big dreams of becoming a missionary to some remote place in South America somewhere that had never heard the gospel. Nothing wrong with that dream! What happened? Life. Life has a way of changing things and changing you. God allowed me to meet a good, godly man, and although my missionary plan was good, noble, and lofty, God had a different plan for the time being. We married, made a good life together, and fast forward about 7 years....had a beautiful daughter. She has always kept us on our toes. She's funny, smart, strong-willed, very opinionated, and....has ADHD. Maybe you are familiar with ADHD, or maybe you just have an idea of what an ADHD child is like. Believe me, those two scenarios are NOT the same. Until you have loved a child with ADHD, you do not understand what is required day in and day out.
This is not a blog about ADHD, so I am not going to go into depth about the symptoms, medicine, therapy, etc. What I am going to tell you is that parenting a child with ADHD has indeed been my "cross" that Jesus asks each of his followers to take up daily. Several years ago when we realized our family was going down this difficult road, God gave me Luke 9:23 as my go-to verse - "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Jesus is telling us in this verse that life is going to be a DAILY struggle. Jesus' true disciples are the ones who identify their struggle, step up to the plate, don't give up, and take up their challenge in Jesus' name. Jesus was in a sense, telling us to "think small". Don't wait for that big promotion or moment of fame to finally feel as though you have arrived or have accomplished greatness. Jesus sees greatness in the faithfulness of loving on a child struggling with ADHD, a parent suffering from Alzheimer's, preparing food for your spouse or parent confined to a wheelchair, giving breathing treatments to a child with Cystic Fibrosis.....or whatever your day to day situation demands.
Keep dreaming the big dream, but don't neglect all the opportunities to follow Jesus in the small things.
Recently, I have become familiar with a song by Josh Wilson called, "Dream Small." I want to end this blog with the lyrics to that song.
It's a momma singing songs about the Lord
It's a daddy spending family time that the world said he cannot afford
These simple moments change the world
It's a pastor at a tiny little Church
Forty years of loving for the broken and the hurt
These simple moments change the world
[Chorus 1]
Dream small
Don't buy the lie you've gotta do it all
Just let Jesus use you where you are
One day at a time
Live well
Loving God and others as yourself
Find little ways where only you can help
With His great love
A tiny rock can make a giant fall
Dream small
[Verse 2]
It's visiting the widow down the street
Or dancing on a Friday with your friend with special needs
These simple moments change the world
Of course there's nothing wrong with bigger dreams
Just don't miss the minutes on your way, your bigger things
'Cause these simple moments change the world
Here's the link to the YouTube video for the song...https://youtu.be/dOBaLrItEyc
But, what if she was on to something....
"Think small".....this is most certainly NOT what we tell our children as they as they step foot into kindergarten. We tell them, "You can be anything! Be a doctor, get into the NBA, be a lawyer, be President of the United States!!" What we forget to tell them is that the statistics of being a NBA player is "about three in 10,000, or 0.03 percent." (www.ncaa.org) While the chances of a child becoming famous is at best minimal, there is a high probability that he will grow up to be a parent, a care taker for an elderly parent or disabled child, a waitress, or "the man who works at the trash dump." Are we teaching our children that they are failures if they grow up and find out that they are not featured in Fortune 500?
"Thinking small" is a concept that has morphed around in my head for some time now. I believe we can learn something spiritually from "thinking small". God has been working on me for a while to finally get the concept. Let me give you a little background. It's 1995. I just returned from a 2 month summer missionary trip in Mexico with a group from college. After returning, I had big dreams of becoming a missionary to some remote place in South America somewhere that had never heard the gospel. Nothing wrong with that dream! What happened? Life. Life has a way of changing things and changing you. God allowed me to meet a good, godly man, and although my missionary plan was good, noble, and lofty, God had a different plan for the time being. We married, made a good life together, and fast forward about 7 years....had a beautiful daughter. She has always kept us on our toes. She's funny, smart, strong-willed, very opinionated, and....has ADHD. Maybe you are familiar with ADHD, or maybe you just have an idea of what an ADHD child is like. Believe me, those two scenarios are NOT the same. Until you have loved a child with ADHD, you do not understand what is required day in and day out.
This is not a blog about ADHD, so I am not going to go into depth about the symptoms, medicine, therapy, etc. What I am going to tell you is that parenting a child with ADHD has indeed been my "cross" that Jesus asks each of his followers to take up daily. Several years ago when we realized our family was going down this difficult road, God gave me Luke 9:23 as my go-to verse - "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Jesus is telling us in this verse that life is going to be a DAILY struggle. Jesus' true disciples are the ones who identify their struggle, step up to the plate, don't give up, and take up their challenge in Jesus' name. Jesus was in a sense, telling us to "think small". Don't wait for that big promotion or moment of fame to finally feel as though you have arrived or have accomplished greatness. Jesus sees greatness in the faithfulness of loving on a child struggling with ADHD, a parent suffering from Alzheimer's, preparing food for your spouse or parent confined to a wheelchair, giving breathing treatments to a child with Cystic Fibrosis.....or whatever your day to day situation demands.
Keep dreaming the big dream, but don't neglect all the opportunities to follow Jesus in the small things.
Recently, I have become familiar with a song by Josh Wilson called, "Dream Small." I want to end this blog with the lyrics to that song.
It's a momma singing songs about the Lord
It's a daddy spending family time that the world said he cannot afford
These simple moments change the world
It's a pastor at a tiny little Church
Forty years of loving for the broken and the hurt
These simple moments change the world
[Chorus 1]
Dream small
Don't buy the lie you've gotta do it all
Just let Jesus use you where you are
One day at a time
Live well
Loving God and others as yourself
Find little ways where only you can help
With His great love
A tiny rock can make a giant fall
Dream small
[Verse 2]
It's visiting the widow down the street
Or dancing on a Friday with your friend with special needs
These simple moments change the world
Of course there's nothing wrong with bigger dreams
Just don't miss the minutes on your way, your bigger things
'Cause these simple moments change the world
Here's the link to the YouTube video for the song...https://youtu.be/dOBaLrItEyc
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