"Little" GIANT things...

Occasionally at work, I am asked to take a shift on the phones to let the regular girls take their lunch. I would never refuse to take on this task (because I don't know how to say no); however, I am painfully skittish when the thought even enters my head. It's worse when I know a day or two in advance, because then it is all I can think about. I worry myself sick chewing on the inside of my lip, and contemplating ridiculous ways of getting out of it. 

This morning, though, I could not come up with a valid excuse in time... so at 12 o'clock, I made the dreaded march to the front desk. Dun, dun, dun!!  My knees were shaking and my voice shook, as I told the R.O.D. (receptionist on duty - I like to come up with abbreviations. It makes things more dramatic) that I was relieving her, we talked briefly about who was on vacation, who was on lunch, and who was pretending to not be in the office today.

I took the reins like a champ, and settled into the desk. When she popped her head back in to say, "Thanks!" I almost jumped out of my skin! I swallowed the bile in my throat and tried to make a little game out of it. This usually works with other situations, so I pretended like I was answering calls for Mother Theresa (don't ask why Mother Theresa...ha!) That got boring especially when the phone didn't ring for about 15 minutes. So I began to relax and started breathing again, which was a big mistake...five seconds later, RING!!!

I jumped and my illegitimate hand (I'm not longer taking ownership of it) smacked the phone right off the hook and it went sliding across the desk and under my seat...I watched in sheer slow-motion horror as I recognized the name on the phone...my boss. Oi vey. I calmly retrieved the phone and said, "Goo..dd..afternoon...Kov..at..tch..CCCCasstings..." and totally forget to say my name. Thankfully, it was his brother just confirming lunch plans. I quickly transferred the call and mentally threw up. I had a couple other phone calls but it was pretty quiet, thankfully.

I promptly switched the phone back to the R.O.D. at 1 o'clock and nearly ran back to my cubicle upstairs. As I burst through the door, my supervisor says, "Oh geez. Who called me?" I had no idea, but I must have successfully put them through to her voicemail! VICTORY!! My reply to her was, "Hey! At least I know one of them actually made it through!" She laughed and I added, "I don't aim high, I just aim where I can reach!" 

As I was sitting, snuggled into the seclusion of my cube (short for cubicle) eating a day old Subway sandwich, I drew a strange analogy from my harrowing morning experience. We often live our lives like that - don't aim high, just aim where you can reach. Everyday it seems that I slip subconsciously into the lie that says only the things within my grasp are possible. I forget that mighty promise: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13

Just a few words, and yet enough to remind me that we should aim high! We have the God of the universe powering us through our day! My handsome husband has often given me a long, awe-inspiring reminder about just how many things our God created, planned, and has under control - the stars, the moons, every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every hair on our heads, every soul that ever lived and died, every name that was given to a child, every circumstance that we face, every worry that furrows our brow, every hurt that enters our hearts, every animal on the earth, every creature in the depths of the sea, every drop of rain, every flake of snow...

I could go on and on, but that is enough to put my world back into perspective. Enough to make me take note and just breath. "Little" aka GIANT fears like answering the phones at work, stay small. They stay in the hands of the Father. I often laugh at things that seemed so troublesome when I was 6, 10, 15, 20...and yet they all eventually pass and somehow don't kill me before I turn another year older. This too shall pass, so my encouragement today is to aim beyond your reach! Reach for what God has planned for your life! He is so good to care about even the "Little" GIANT things in our lives!