Letting the Little Things Go

Letting the Little Things Go

One day I phoned an 800 number to make a motel
reservation...

The depressingly disinterested reservations clerk who
answered the phone tempted me to think the worst of
her. 'Who does she think she is? I'm the customer. I
don't have to put up with this. I don't have to do
business with these people. Does she have any idea how
many motel chains there are? I can go anywhere I want,'
I thought. But I was in a good mood. "You must be
having a bad day," I said cheerfully.

"Oh, yes, sir, I am. My last customer kept yelling at
me, and I am a little rattled right now. Thank you for
understanding." 

Of course, I had not understood a thing. I simply
stumbled into the principle of letting the little ones
go. What came within a whisker of ruining my day and
making this nice young girl want to quit her job turned
into an uplifting, encouraging ten-minute opportunity
to glorify God. She even found a room for me at an
extraordinarily low rate.

Thought: The secret of loving others is to let the
little things go.

-- Patrick M. Morley, "The Most Important Thing," The
Rest of Your Life, (p. 185-186). Cited on "KneEmail,"
Mike Benson, Editor. www.oakhillcoc.org