“The Little Things “ Chapter 69

Do you appreciate the little things? Or do you focus on the trophies on the wall?

Beginning a little over a month ago, a bird started visit us every night around dusk, and he sleeps in our window box feeder. Every morning at dawn she leaves for the day. I looked up native birds and believe it is a female Carolina Wren. We named her Steiny - short for Einstein -because she is so smart to find a safe place to sleep every night. She falls asleep and we don’t even bother her while watching tv and moving around.

Steiny got me thinking about how special it is to have a little visitor every day, and it makes me appreciate the people in my life even more.

Around the same time Steiny showed up, I was looking someone up in my contacts and realized I had 333 phone contacts. It’s pretty common to have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook, but in your phone contacts? We scroll through the social media sites and “like” or comment on posts and move on, not thinking about it longer than it takes to move on to the next post.  Somehow we feel connected to the person we comment on, but know only what they posted. We accept that as staying in touch.

This got me thinking... when was the last time I connected with the 333 contacts in my phone? I obviously saved their numbers because I wanted to keep in touch, and yet it’s been years since I did so for many on the list.

So I decided I would start with the first contact and send a message to a few every day until I got to the last one. “I hope you have a great day. Love and Blessings." A simple note letting them know I thought of them. The results were pretty amazing. I found some numbers were no longer valid, some belonged to entirely different people, and others still got me to the person I had saved.

What I discovered through the process is how I missed my friends, and how good it made me feel to take some time to reconnect. Many of my friends said hello back, and others surprised me with updates. I decided to share some of the messages with you in hopes that it inspires you to reach out to your contacts and say hello:

• “Thanks Dave. You have no idea how much I needed that right now. God bless, brother.”

• “Awwwww thanks friend. This made my day ❤️ How are you?”

• “Hey my fellow comrade…I’m just trying to make it through the day. Thank you for this text, I needed it. I pray that you’re having a great day. Much love and blessings to you.”  A simple text changed their day.

• “Praying for you and your family my friend!”

• “Thank you my friend same to you. I just said a prayer for you the other day. How are you doing” Prayers that touch my heart.

• “Holidays were great and the family is well. I have second grand daughter now.” He shared pictures and we caught up on the rest of his family.

• “I love you man I hope all is well. Been thinking about you all”

• “Thank you for reaching out david. You reached out at a time where I needed a reminder that there’s a friend/family that is here for me. Your text message put a smile on my face and shined hope in my heart. Thank you for thinking about me and I love you and your family too.”  She reminded me family is not by blood alone.

• “Thank you so much you’ve blessed my day.  I love you and sending you lots of blessings🙏♥️”

• “You too, my friend! I’m learning a lot from your BLOG. I appreciate you sharing your experiences. “

• “Awwww hey I hope you have an amazing day as well my favorite squad leader” I mostly keep in touch with her through Facebook, but I haven’t been her squad leader since 2001. I am honored she feels this way.

• “You too, Dave. Thank you for your example of faith and inspiration that there is more to our existence.  You have a special connection, I feel. Please pray for my family, friends, and me that we may all gain the strength and faith you consistently display.  Much love, Brother! “ He is a senior leader of mine and a deeply religious man. To think he asked me to pray for him is amazing to me.

I am very happy I decided to start this text idea. I know there are many of my friends I could pick up the phone and call in the past and never skip a beat. However, I am limited to texting and letters now, so it’s important for me to do so.

As the days go by, I have learned that little gestures are far more important to me than what I own, what title I have, or what trophies I keep on the shelf. A bird taking shelter, a text, a letter in the mail, or even a friend sending a good morning everyday. These are the things that bless me the most. We need to stop drawing lines in the sand and start loving the little things and people in our lives again.

Life is too short to be so worried about the things I can't control.

Love and Blessings.