Some days it seems everything happens to prevent me from doing what I’m trying so hard to do (like get to work on time), and in the midst of my frustration, I’d sometimes stop and think, “Maybe this ISN’T just ‘bad luck’ or ‘a coincidence.’ Maybe I’m being saved from something bad happening if I got my way.” It’s unfortunate that we rarely get to verify this. Sometimes we get confirmation, like the afternoon when weird things on the road just prevented me from getting to the ATM at the end of lunch one day, such that I had to forego my withdrawal and return to work. Upon my return to work, I heard that the bank I’d been trying to get to was robbed at lunchtime. And sometimes, something bad DOES happen to you and you’d think, “Dang, if I’d only done this one small thing differently, I would’ve been able to avoid this,” and you wish you could go back in time just to tweak that small thing. But how do we know how many “small things” were done or prevented to keep us safe thus far? You don’t know about most near misses unless you don’t miss them.

On the same line, here’s something I got via email today, which I will send on as a “Happy Friday” to my dear readers.

The ‘LITTLE’ Things
As you might know, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten.
Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
One woman was late because her alarm clock didn’t go off in time.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.
One of them missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
One’s car wouldn’t start.
One went back to answer the telephone.
One had a child that dawdled and didn’t get ready as soon as he should have.
One couldn’t get a taxi.
The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work, but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.
Now when I am stuck in traffic,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone,
All the little things that annoy me…
I think to myself,
This is exactly where
I am supposed to be at this very moment…

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong,
The children are slow getting dressed,
You can’t seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don’t get mad or frustrated;
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
With all those annoying little things
And may you remember their possible purpose.