A few years ago, I went through a three-month fitness and lifestyle transformation program with a group of friends. In one of the training sessions, our coach told us the story of a woman who decided to transform her health one small decision at a time. On average, she drank at least nine sodas each day. So her first commitment was to cut one per day. To her surprise, she was able to cut two per day very quickly. And after a very short time, she had cut back to one per day. That was a huge difference in her health which began with one small decision.
One day, the Old Testament prophet Elijah visited a woman in the town of Zarephath during the middle of a drought and famine. He asked her to give him something to eat and drink, but she replied that she was a widow and only had enough to make herself and her son one more meal before they completely ran out and would most likely die in the days following. In what seems like a cruel request, Elijah asks her to go ahead and make him some food first. In that moment, this woman made a small decision which impacted her destiny. The Bible tells us that because of her decision to honor God by feeding a small meal to this prophet, she never ran out of oil or flour from that day till the drought and famine were over. Others went without, but this widow who could not provide for herself and her family never did.
I remember hearing a Japanese fable once about a jungle which caught on fire. As the fire spread and grew worse, all the animals began to make their way out of the jungle and away to safety. All except for one lone hummingbird. This little hummingbird would fly to a nearby lake, scoop up a few drops of water in its beak, fly back to fiery jungle and drop the water on the fire. After having passed the crowd of exiting animals several times, one of the elephants asked why the hummingbird was making this futile effort. The hummingbird responded, “I’m doing what I can.”
Our decisions determine our destiny. Take that to heart today. No matter how small your decision to act seems to be at the moment, remember that it has power to shape your future. Choose the small kindness… the small generosity… the small forgiveneness… the small courage… the small compliment. Though it may appear small to others at the moment, that one decision could multiply into your destiny before your very eyes! And even if it takes some time to show its effects, stick with it. Sometimes our destiny is revealed by our legacy.
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