It's the Little Things that Matter the Most

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." ~Luke 6:31

2007

"It's the little things that matter the most."

If I said that to our girls once, I've said it a million times while they were growing up ~ & still do. Why? Because it's one of the most true statements ever proclaimed.

Those "little things" can be anything from thanking God for the sight of the 1st robin of spring, running into an old friend at the grocery store, ready help in the kitchen or simply a kind word or look or touch. And those "little things" accumulate into "big things" throughout our relationships, especially in our families.

2009

Loving touch is crucial in the life-blood of our families; most certainly if our husbands came from a family w/mothers who were a little 'hard' or had that terrible mentality of "big boys don't cry" or who scarcely showed any sort of softness or affection. THAT is NOT Christ-like, at all. Sometimes, wives need to work in tandem w/the Lord to soften their hearts; hearts that long for loving affection and to unashamedly give it back.

DD#1 ~ 2009

I am a toucher & a hugger ~ I can barely walk past my husband or 1 of our daughters w/o simply reaching out to touch their arm or stroke their hair. I want my family know that I treasure them beyond any other person or thing on this earth.

DD#2 ~ 2010

This thought of need for physical affection was captured so sweetly in 1 of my favorite books, "Home-Making by J.R. Miller (c. 1882) in the chapter "The Wedded Life," although it is true for all familial relationships . . .

". . . there is no place in the world where the amenities of courtesy should be so carefully maintained as in the home. There are no hearts that hunger so for expressions of affection as the hearts of which we are most sure. There is no love that so needs its daily bread as the love that is strongest & holiest. There is no place where rudeness or incivility is so unpardonable as inside our own doors & toward our best beloved. The tenderer the love & the truer, the more it craves the thousand little attentions & kindnesses which so satisfy the heart. It is not costly presents at Christmas & on birthdays & anniversaries that are wanted; these are only mockeries if the days between are empty of affectionate expressions. Jewelry & silks & richly-bound volumes will never atone for the want of warmth & tenderness. Between husband & wife there should be maintained w/o break or pause, the most perfect courtesy, the gentlest attention, the most unselfish amiability, the utmost affectionateness. Coleridge says: 'The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions, the little soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, & the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable thought & genial feeling.' These may seem trifles, & the omission of them may be deemed unworthy of thought; but they are the daily bread of love, & hearts go hungry when they are omitted. It may be only carelessness at 1st in the busy husband or a weary wife that fails in these small, sweet courtesies, & it may seem a little matter, but in the end the result may be a growing far apart of 2 lives which might have been for ever very happy in each other had their early love but been cherished & nourished." [all emphasis mine, Kim<><]

We ALL need affection ~ man, woman, boy, girl & teen ~ it's just that simple. I've seen it work & it starts & is maintained by the simple, little things.

Indulge in something "little" today & see what happens.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><