Little Threads

LITTLE THREADS

In a book on sermonettes for children, I found an illustration on little threads. Stretch out a single thread with both hands and break it. It is easy to do. Do it with two threads. It gets more difficult. By the fifth and sixth threads, it becomes even more difficult. This is the way it is with a lot of things.

This is true with our bad habits. Have you ever walked into a room where not a single piece of clothing has been hung? Have you been in a home where two days of dishes have been piled up on the sink? Have you gone shopping at a grocery store and found trash all over, wrappings and disposable articles of every kind dropped by uncaring, careless hands? Have you seen little children in moving cars unprotected and unbuckled? Have you wondered where the extra fifteen pounds came from? Have you heard foul words coming from the mouths of people and thought, how disgusting? Like little threads, each action, each neglect, each item, though miniscule, will build upon another. From little threads can come such bigger ones.

How often we say, “One more won’t hurt.” A puff of smoke. Another drink. A little white lie. Another mile with the gas gauge at empty. Cheating a customer, a friend, or the government. A burst of anger. Skipping an appointment. Procrastinating on paying a bill. Not admitting an error. Not locking the door. Not arriving on time. Breaking a promise. Failing to pray. Polluting the air, the water, the soil, the ocean. Not locking the gate to the swimming pool. Leaving a child unattended for three minutes. A day without exercise. A day without God.

Imagine what change can occur from so little if each builds toward one thing more, one simple correction, with one helping hand. A simple prayer. One act of kindness. Five minutes of daily exercise. Positive thoughts even for the most despised. Precaution at ATM machines, crossing a busy street, walking a dark parking, driving on high speed freeways, swimming in whirling oceans waves. Learning a lesson from every encounter. Reading one book a month rather than none. Honesty even in the smallest business transaction. Believing in oneself. Learning to trust the trustworthy, being cautious with the untrustworthy. Giving thanks for each good gift. Putting trust in God.

From so little can come so much. Life is full of little threads. In each of us, there are multitudes of threads: threads of thoughts, threads of emotions, threads of energy, threads of memories, threads of human will. Each is linked to a Center of a system, a network, and a spiritual dynamic. On these we build our habits, our character, and our lives. Imagine where we would be when we build on faith, hope, and love, all to make life better for self and for others. Everything starts with a single thread. May they be silver threads.

May 31, 2010