Stewardship in Practice: The Sacredness of Small Obediences
What God taught me through a meal, a tantrum, and the Spirit’s gentle nudge
This morning during my quiet time, I made a simple but sincere commitment to God:
Obey.
Whatever the Spirit nudged me to do, I would do. No delay. No internal debate. No spiritual negotiation with my to-do list. Just discern—and obey.
The day ahead was full. I had work to handle. A toddler to wrangle. Groceries to grab. Floors to mop. And I absolutely did not want to get caught in DMV Friday traffic. So I finished my prayer and sprang into action, thinking:
“God, I’m going to be diligent today. I’m going to knock out this list, honor my commitments, and stay on track.”
By 10 a.m., my son and I were out the door. By 11:30, we were home. Floors? Mopped. Fridge? Restocked. Emails? Answered.
Check. Check. Check.
After lunch, I was tidying up when I heard it:
“Eat.”
A quiet prompting from the Holy Spirit. And I realized—I hadn’t eaten all morning. Not even a cup of coffee. I was moving on autopilot, checking boxes, skipping over myself in the name of stewardship. But this was stewardship, too.
So I paused. I obeyed. Microwaved my meal prep and sat down to eat. Slowly. Intentionally. And it was so good.
Not just the food—but the moment. A sacred pause to care for my body, because God said, “Eat.”
Fifteen minutes later, the iPad died and so did my toddler’s calm. He melted down—screaming, crying, flailing. His tantrums have been more intense lately. More emotional. More layered. This one hit the Richter scale.
I took a breath. And in my best Ms. Rachel voice said,
“Aww man, looks like we need to plug it up! Can you help me charge it?”
I rubbed his belly to ground him, to keep the iPad from becoming a frisbee. We took a few breaths together while we waited for the Apple icon. I cued up Mickey. Crisis averted.
And right there, with peanut butter still on my shirt and Mickey Mouse blaring from the couch, it hit me:
Stewardship isn’t just about the big things. It’s about the small obedience.
Feeding yourself when you’re running on fumes.
Responding gently when it would be easier to snap.
Listening for God’s whisper in the middle of a toddler tantrum.
Today reminded me that stewardship starts with surrender.
And sometimes, it looks like pausing to eat lunch.
Reflection Prompt:
What small obedience is God inviting you into today?
Call to Action:
If this resonated with you, share this post or forward it to a friend. You never know how your small “yes” can encourage someone else’s.
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Because stewardship isn’t about perfection—it’s about posture.