Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Why is it we are so passionate about doing a good job?  Most people go to work striving to do their very best.  Or if they volunteer somewhere, or whatever they are doing – we always strive for perfection.

I know I am very passionate about everything I do.  I want to do the best I can (even if that is not someone else’s best).  My best is what I strive for.

It’s funny that people take on responsibilities, and carry those responsibilities out, even if they don’t benefit from it in some way.  And if they do benefit, as in their salary, or a pat on the back, etc, then it would seem they are more passionate about doing their best.  You can give an employee their job duties, and if anyone tries to thwart those duties, most people get their feathers ruffled because they have that goal to accomplish.  Most of the time the big picture is easy to take in.  It gets hard when all the small stuff starts crowding in.

I heard a preacher this morning say the one animal that causes the most deaths in humans, is one of the smallest – the mosquito.  I was unsure if this was true, so I Googled it.

Rti.org stated this – “Though only female mosquitoes feed on humans, the mosquito remains the deadliest animal in the world.  Even today, the mosquito is responsible for over 1 million deaths each year.”

The CDC said pretty much the same thing, so even though a mosquito is really not an “animal” – they are insects; I believe this to be true.

But the point the pastor was making is small things in our life can be deadly.   They can attack us when we are unaware.  A mosquito bite can spread all sorts of diseases, such as malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever, Zika, chikungunya, and lymphatic filariasis, just to name a few.

And just like a mosquito bite, and us developing one of these diseases, small crisis in our life can attack us and we won’t know it, until we are in full blown crisis.   When you have a lot of small stuff attacking you, you start getting prickly to other people.

You probably don’t even notice your doing it, and if you do notice, you don’t seem to have control over it.  Well, we can’t do our best, or be our best if we are prickly, and out of sorts.

Most of the time we feel the way we do because we feel unsafe, or out of control.  If something small is in your life, try and figure out a way to take control of it.  If you can’t figure a way to take control of it, find something you can take control of, and work on that.

Replacement control sometimes takes that uneasy feeling away to help you feel more settled.  Other big issues that make us feel agitated are feeling as our opinions or efforts aren’t’ appreciated.  If I’m in this situation, I go find a hobby.  When I’m completing a hobby, such as painting, only my opinion matters how I complete that painting.  It gives me freedom to complete it anyway I choose.

And just like trying to combat mosquitoes, (which by the way the definition for mosquitoes has the words leeches & parasites in it) we take steps to get rid of the pesky little critters.  We put bug spray on, we spray the yard with Yard Guard, the County sprays for them overhead in airplanes, etc.

So, to sum up, we really should start guarding our life from the little stuff that continually pops up in our lives, just as we do the mosquitos.  So, how do we do that?  Best answer to that is start your morning off with reading your Bible and praying.  This will guard your attitude and mind set.

Ephesians 6:10-12 & 18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” “¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

So be passionate in your prayers and spiritual life, just as you would your job.  And all those pesky little things will slowly disappear.

Karen Y. Stevens, Executive Director, Meals on Wheels