Outstanding achievements
Incomprehensible defeats
Spectacular successes and fatal failures
Did not just happen in one day:
It all started as a little thing
In a little corner
A little while ago.
Little things excellently performed
Have created profound opportunities
Paving way for greater events.
Little things underestimated
Have hatched inestimable losses.
Little things ignored or neglected
Have floored giants and dethroned kings.
Little things despised have resulted
To critical emergencies that cost lives
And ruined great destinies
Yet little things valued have appreciated
Despite disheartening depreciations
And withstood staggering situations
Earth quaking crashes and flagrant fluctuations.
Little things thrashed by petty minds
Have yielded little results that grew
Into wonderful impacts to become
The ladder that led from obscurity
To the pinnacle of greatness
Making little discoverers, the focal points
In their generations.
Little people who start little
Never stay little, they increase
And life cannot belittle or limit them
But big men who started it big
With little regards for little things
Have only one way left to go:
They spiral downwards.
No little is too little to matter
No greatness is big enough
For little trickles of today
Form great oceans tomorrow.
Your attitude is the key determinant
So quit thrashing your harvest
Because the seed is just a little thing.
© 2006 by Glory C. Odemene (Excerpt from Shekinah! By Glory C. Odemene)
Great things often appear as modest opportunities. Is there any wonder a long year kicks off with a short day? The first quarter of 2015 is already approaching its end. How has the year gone with you so far? Are you still celebrating and expectant? Is your heart prepared for the best or the worst? Is your mind in tune with your expectations? Is your house in order? Life is full of prospects but the world is full of shortsighted folks who don’t see beyond the apparent. My dad would say opportunities come to those who are ready. Life events and challenges, especially those we consider unpleasant, are actually divinely orchestrated, to prepare us, prior to the arrival of life changing opportunities, lest we miss the chance for change. But only those who avail themselves of the little everyday opportunities are equipped to maximize those once in a lifetime events that make for distinction.
While on your marks and getting set for the best year of your life, please be reminded that little things can make a great difference to where you are going, how, and when you arrive. It could be a smile, a word of encouragement, a gift, a pat, a call, a note, making a little sacrifice, lending a helping hand, sharing love and forgiveness, going the extra mile: there are so many prospects hidden in little things, so many baskets of countless cobs resulting from a handful of corn seed.
I cannot count how many times little steps have extricated lives from death’s grip. You never can tell how far little steps go in aiding others, and they always return, lifting the giver higher. If he who goes out weeping, bearing precious seeds certainly returns with smiles and bountiful harvests, how much more a cheerful giver?
Do not despise days of little beginnings. Those who do rarely go far. Do not despise people in their little times. Do good to all men, especially to members of the household of faith. That is one sure key that opens doors of favor.
The hour to favor Zion is now. The appointed time has come but Zion’s preparedness to embrace the manifestation of that superabundance will make the difference between success and failure. Just like God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, so also will He not allow you to be blessed beyond your capacity per time. You get in the measure that you give. Your measure of giving depicts how much room you have made available for incoming blessings. How much room have you made? How prepared are you?
As you pray and work and wait for that big bang in your life, make a little difference in someone else’s life today. Step out of your way and reach out to someone with love. Reach out to another today. You don’t have to spend millions. It could be a phone call, a prayer, a visit, words of encouragement are very little things that go very far. As you expect that outstanding result, sow the little seeds of love and kindness and don’t forget, seemingly insignificant attitudes of gratitude and thanksgiving provide the moisture and warmth, essential for explosive harvests.
When little things are duly attended, greatness explodes here and there to the utter amazement of witnesses. Outstanding success is really not about spectacular performances. It is simply when grace marries wisdom to ‘the opportunity’ in the presence of diligence, consistence, and patience. People excel when proven skill meets ‘the right timing.’ It may not happen when you expect but each has its appointed seasons and due times.
Wherever you may be right now, whatever you may be going through, stop a while and look around, there are countless opportunities dancing at your feet, seeking your attention. Will you notice and attend to them? Sometimes they are not so clear so you need to persist to be able to figure them out. Little they may seem today, but nothing grows rapidly when properly fed like minute everyday opportunities. Do something about it. Grace abounds. Big things happen when normal people do the ordinary things in unusual ways. Something great is on the way: the small deals hold the key to unlocking it. Key in and let God give you a real big treat!
Glory!