Elephants have a special significance in our family. While growing up, whenever we would face something challenging, my mother would gently remind us, “How do you eat an elephant?” and after a pause, she would smile at us and give the standard answer of, “One bite at a time.”
Elephant was not on the menu at our house, nor did we have the desire to include it. The elephant spoken of above represented a giant task or issue that faced us. As a whole, the task seemed un-doable, but taken in small, consistent ‘bites,’ it could be dealt with in a successful manner over time.
This reminds me of my maternal grandmother whose method of dealing with the ‘elephants’in her life was evidenced by the whistling or the humming of one of her favorite hymns. Long before we ever entered her house and caught sight of her, we could hear her melodious notes trilling lightheartedly through the open window. Grandma called it ‘singing herself happy.’ Regardless of the task she performed – whether baking bread, hanging clothes on the line, canning, gardening or playing solitaire – she made it more enjoyable to herself, and to others, because she tackled her tasks one note at a time.
Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
Do you have anything ‘elephant’-sized facing you? Or have any challenging task ahead of you that seems overwhelming and
insurmountable?
Haggai 2:4 “Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you.”
He is with us! That assurance alone is enough to make us lift our hearts and voices in praise to Him. Sing yourself happy as you worship Him and then watch as our Shepherd helps you deal with the elephants in your life.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord our Shepherd, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
Elephant was not on the menu at our house, nor did we have the desire to include it. The elephant spoken of above represented a giant task or issue that faced us. As a whole, the task seemed un-doable, but taken in small, consistent ‘bites,’ it could be dealt with in a successful manner over time.
This reminds me of my maternal grandmother whose method of dealing with the ‘elephants’in her life was evidenced by the whistling or the humming of one of her favorite hymns. Long before we ever entered her house and caught sight of her, we could hear her melodious notes trilling lightheartedly through the open window. Grandma called it ‘singing herself happy.’ Regardless of the task she performed – whether baking bread, hanging clothes on the line, canning, gardening or playing solitaire – she made it more enjoyable to herself, and to others, because she tackled her tasks one note at a time.
Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
Do you have anything ‘elephant’-sized facing you? Or have any challenging task ahead of you that seems overwhelming and
insurmountable?
Haggai 2:4 “Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you.”
He is with us! That assurance alone is enough to make us lift our hearts and voices in praise to Him. Sing yourself happy as you worship Him and then watch as our Shepherd helps you deal with the elephants in your life.
(For more information about forming a relationship with the Lord our Shepherd, see How You Can Find Him located at the top of this page.)
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