Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk

There are so many things that happen in life to distract us. Often they are small insignificant things when you look at them in the “big picture.”  Maybe it’s a snowstorm that delays your return home on a day you’re not feeling well. It could be an injury, or maybe you burnt the turkey for thanksgiving. Whatever it is, it’s not worth crying over. There’s a reason the phrase “don’t cry over spilled milk” exists. 

When we realize that the small stuff isn’t worth sweating over, we can focus on the positive in life, the big picture. What is your big picture?  For me it is family.  I’m talking about the joy that comes from having a family and knowing that I can spend eternity with them. 

Too often in today’s society, rather than taking the time to fix something that might be broke, we throw it away for something new.  That mentality has trickled into family. There are too many divorces. I admit, I have been a part of those numbers. It wasn’t my choice ultimately but I could have fought harder to save my marriage.  Luckily God provides a second chance for us and I met an amazing woman who means the world to me.

I bring up the fault in today’s society to point out that all too often those problems in a marriage are the result of “small things” that have escalated to “big things”.  My wife and I used to quarrel about something as simple as our definition of “choice.”  To clarify, I loathe green beans. The taste, texture, and smell disgust me.  She says it is my choice to not like green beans.  I do admit that I probably over-exaggerate my dislike of green beans, but that ultimately my dislike for green beans isn’t a choice, its nature.   Early in our marriage we let little things like that cause fights.  WHAT??? So silly and stupid.  As we’ve matured (I’d like to think I’ve matured), we’ve realized that those little things make us different and ultimately help us work well together. Realizing that simple fact, we have been able to solidify our relationship even more.

One thing I must caution when thinking about the little things is that we can’t just ignore the little things.  God teaches that we learn “precept upon precept.”  We take each little problem, we improve it, and ultimately are better people as a result. Dwelling on failures just depresses you.

Example here. A few months ago I had ACL Reconstructive surgery.  The pain has subsided overall but it still nags consistently in almost everything I do.  Today for the first time I was able to go down the stairs without too much of an issue.  It was something that I had been working on little by little. Step by step (literally).  It didn’t it didn’t happen overnight. It hurt, it was slow, yet ultimately as I accomplished it. A feeling of success and joy came to me. 

Back to my first example of burning turkey, maybe you burned it for thanksgiving but come Christmas you can redeem yourself. Maybe next year if you don’t have dinner plans on thanksgiving. There’s always a way to bring joy and accomplishment in your life.  Don’t let the little things get you down. Rise above, it makes all the difference in your happiness!