I was in the banking hall.
The man next to me in a queue went to where a woman with a baby on her back was filling out a cash withdrawal form.
Reaching the woman, the man whispered something to her and returned to the queue.
The woman said, “Thank you”, and stopped what she was doing to attend to her baby.
The baby was sleeping, and the woman did not know that her baby’s neck was tilted awkwardly backwards.
Left in that posture for an extended period could be dangerous to the baby’s health.
Having now been alerted by the man, the woman repositioned the baby on her back, turned to the man, and said again, “Thank you, sir.”
Be observant
When I decided to write about “little things that matter,” I searched and found the following information about a baby on the back of her mother's—
“Tilting a baby’s head backwards for extended periods can be dangerous due to potential issues with breathing difficulties, risk of injury, and twisted neck.”
We probably don’t need to have such specialised knowledge to be helpful as we go about everyday life.
What we certainly need is to be observant and ready to assist others at the nick of time.
The man noticed something that none of us in the banking hall did.
His timely intervention probably saved the life of the sleeping baby and the trauma of a woman who did not realise the danger her baby was in.
It is, therefore, true that “a stitch in time saves nine.” Or, more plainly, little actions taken early can prevent bigger problems later.
Wise housekeeper
Here is another true “little” story that a man told me about the impressive action of his housekeeper.
One morning, when he was in a hurry to go to work, he asked his house help to find him a rag to clean his shoes.
Instead of just going to fetch a rag, the house help rather took the man’s shoes, found a rag in a corner, wiped the shoes clean, and brought them to him.
“Thank you,” the man said and rushed out.
The man told me this story in praise of the house help for her prudence.
It seemed to be little and insignificant, but the girl’s action was noticed, highly appreciated, and endeared her to the family.
The second mile
I recall another story in which a young man went for a job interview along with several other applicants.
While the applicants waited, the employees began to load a large number of boxes of merchandise into a vehicle.
Only one of the applicants thought it wise to put away his interview documents and assist the employees in loading the boxes into the vehicle.
As it turned out, it was this applicant who got the job!
I call such little actions “second-mile” gestures.
They go a long way to differentiate some people from others and open doors of opportunities for them.
Much-needed water
Here is another little thing that mattered.
The church auditorium was packed with over a thousand worshippers.
Two pews ahead of where I sat, a woman wearing a nose mask began to cough badly.
Helpless, she didn’t know what to do and kept on coughing.
While all of us other worshippers sat and perhaps hoped that the woman’s coughing would cease, a younger woman on the pew next to ours did something different.
She looked around and beckoned to an usher for attention.
When the usher did not notice her and kept moving away, the younger woman raised her hand so others near the usher would notice that she was trying to get the usher’s attention.
When the usher finally turned around to look at her, the young woman made a sign indicating that water was needed for the coughing woman.
Quickly, the usher brought the water, and the woman who was coughing was sorted out.
I liked the young woman’s action, little as it seemed, for it brought a timely relief to the old woman.
Especially, I liked the vigour and persistence with which she got water for the old woman.
Many of us have been in a coughing fit like that before, and getting water in time to drink is absolutely relieving.
The point
So what’s my point? Do you sometimes wonder if Almighty God is interested in something as little as the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30)?
How about the fact that he remembers the sparrows and flowers of the field (Matthew 6:28-30), and that he never forgets us?
The Lord’s intimate care for the details of life assures us that nothing about us escapes him, which is why we can entrust our lives to him without fearing that he will neglect or disappoint us.
The writer is a publisher, author, writer-trainer and CEO of Step Publishers.
E-mail: lawrence.darmani@gmail.com
