Day's Diary

January 31, 2007 ~ The Little Things

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Most times in life we focus on the big events, major adventures or misfortunes – weddings, funerals, church openings, moves to a new location. These are the events that we remember and that we mark as important. But more and more I am becoming convinced that it is the little things in life that determine our real comfort or discomfort and colour our perspective of the big things. At least, that is what I am observing here in Malawi. Simple things like string and ants and a can of soda can make all the difference in how I assess the real comfort of life.

As I was moving into my house, I found a piece of string tied at several places to make it longer. I was ready to throw it out when Silas stopped me. He said I would find that piece of string valuable in the future. I was immediately reminded of my father and his box of string. Some of you may remember my telling of helping my father clean out his basement workshop and coming upon a small box labelled “Pieces of string too small to be useful.” I questioned him about keep something too small to be useful and his reply was, “You never know when you may need just a bit more to do the job.” I teased him about that repeatedly. Well, he is getting the last laugh. As we were putting up the mosquito netting, we discovered that the ceiling hook was just a bit too high to make it possible to hang the net and then tuck it in around the bed. Silas smiled and went to get the string that I was going to throw out. He cut a piece and added it to the loop at the top of the net and the fit was perfect. I am now safe from mosquitoes as I sleep because of a small piece of string. The string has also been cut to help hang woodcarvings and to close bags against insect invaders. My father would be delighted.

It is the small insect invaders that can make life uncomfortable. I have an ongoing, and yes, losing battle, against the small ants of Malawi. These creatures are not 1/10 th of an inch long, but they make their presence known, as they come in the hundreds. There is never just an ant; there is always an army of them. They march in formation and invade with great efficiency. Let a small crumb of bread remain and the ants regard that is an invitation to attack. The other evening after dinner, I set up my laptop computer on the dining room table to work for a while. (My wonderful, large desk had not yet been delivered.) I thought I had carefully cleaned the table, only to discover, too late, that I had not. There remained a crumb or two and immediately, the ants invaded. They were not satisfied to stay on the bread. They invaded the computer as well. They crawled on the screen and the keyboard and in and out of every opening. I quickly removed the breadcrumbs and brushed away all the ants I could find, but they already had the upper hand. I couldn’t kill them fast enough. I didn’t want to use my ultimate weapon, “Doom,” a spray that works as well if not better than “Raid,” at least not on or around the computer. So I spent the evening eliminating them one by one, as best I could. They crawled on my hands and arms and bit as I was trying to kill them. They know no limits. I thought I had done a good job, until the next day when I tried to use the CD player on the computer and discovered that it was sticking or skipping or would just stop working. Careful investigation revealed ant carcasses. I am progressively cleaning them out. Slowly, the CD player is functioning better. Last evening I went into the kitchen to close up for the night, only to discover the stainless steel sink black with ants. I had rinsed out a tuna fish can and apparently some of the oil remained in the sink, enough to invite the invaders again. Out came the Doom and on went the battle. I know this is one I will not win but I will fight all year. No food is left out or open. All food is stored in the fridge or in zip lock storage bags or plastic containers. Just as I learn to defend in a given area, they find a new vulnerability and attack. They are small, but they can make life uncomfortable, to say the least.

But in the midst of such battles, there are small comforts, as well. Yesterday it poured rain, making it so that I didn’t want to go out, but I had some things I had to do, so out in the rain I went. One of my errands was grocery shopping. I never like to grocery shop, not even at home. I put it off until I must. Yesterday it was a must, so I trudged through the running streams of water to the small grocery we have here in Zomba. I got what I needed and was in line to check out when I looked to my left and saw a small stack of soda cans. I looked more closely, to be certain I was seeing correctly. Yes, there were 6 packs of Diet Pepsi! Now it is fairly easy to find Coca Cola here in Malawi. It is everywhere, and on some occasions Diet Coke is available, but not often. But I have never seen Pepsi, my preferred drink. I was prepared to go the entire year without a Pepsi, and here, in the small grocery in Zomba, on a rainy day, was the treat of a Diet Pepsi. Last evening as I sat reading and enjoying a chilled Diet Pepsi, I realized again that it is the little things in life that make the big differences in comfort. Praise God for the small things in life that bring comfort. The rest, well…the battle goes on!