I love the sound of rain. When I hear it pouring outside, I think, showers of blessings are on the way. It also reminds me of a hymn I sang in church as a boy entitled, “There Shall be Showers of Blessing.” The first verse and chorus go,

There shall be showers of blessing
This is the promise of love
There shall be seasons refreshing
Sent from the Savior above

Showers of blessing
Showers of blessing we need
Mercy-drops round us are falling
But for the showers we plead

Growing up, my houses in Trinidad had galvanized roofs. So, when the rain poured it sounded like a watery roar. My siblings and I usually became excited. We’d run to the window and peer outside to witness the sheets of water drenching the yard. If thunder and lightning joined in, my sisters would sometimes hide under a bed. When it pours, it also feels like cozy inside weather. And yes, it is raining as I pen this.

More times than not, there would be an accompanying blessing in my physical world when it pours outside.

Today, reflect on one of your pleasant childhood memories.

I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

(NIV, Ezekiel 34:26)

Carol Dweck, Ph.D. in Mindset, compares a fixed and a growth mindset. A fixed mindset believes that your intelligence and skills cannot be changed. Hence when those with this bent make a mistake, it causes them to lose confidence in themselves, cuts their interest in their subject, and adversely affects their performance.

Conversely, someone with a growth mindset sees a mistake as a learning opportunity and it does not reduce their drive. They believe that they can improve their competency with effort and practice. In a growth mindset you adopt the mind to be better – more competent or skilled.

Consider Walt Disney who was born in 1901. Even though he suffered setbacks like bankruptcy and a mental breakdown, he worked tirelessly on his craft in creating animations. Eventually he perfected a new way to combine live-action and animation. Mickey mouse was created in 1928. In 1955 Disneyland was launched. Today Walt Disney parks and studios are known all over the world.

Fortunately, if you find you are in a fixed mindset, you can adopt a growth one. If you are already exhibiting the preference toward growth, there is no telling where your transformations will take you.

The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

(NIV, Proverbs 12:27)

“This is annoying!” That is your first thought when you feel a tiny stone in your shoe rubbing against a toe, even if you have socks on. Whether or not you are with company, you must stop. You must interrupt your conversation or your walk and take a minute to remove this stone that is causing distress. Otherwise, you will have distort how you walk to avoid it, leading to other foot issues later.

While it may seem small, the ripple effects of small things are extraordinary.

Matt Bevin

Just imagine something so small can cause so much grievance or pain, that it forces us to stop. At least with a pet we can tell it to “sit” or with a child, “behave” sometimes without pausing. But with a stone we must stop and take drastic action – like remove it. Granted, there are some pets and children with whom you must also take drastic action to stop contrary behavior.

If on the other hand you didn’t put on your socks properly and the sewn area is awkwardly rubbing under a toe, it would be uncomfortable but not necessarily a showstopper. To deal with it you wouldn’t remove your sock, but just adjust it.

Could it be that we may regard certain situations in our lives as merely irritants which we can deal with or simply ignore instead of a stone in our shoe which must not just be adjusted but be removed?

Imagine you discovered that a particular person in your life is causing you to forfeit your potential – that’s probably a stone in your shoe. Imagine a habitual thought that causes you to sabotage yourself – that’s probably a stone in your shoe.

Today, identify some stone in your shoe and decide to remove it.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

(NIV, Philippians 4:8)

Scholars advocate that when you are in the captive moment of a moving speaker, seminar, or revelation, make a move immediately because the time for your next action is N.O.W. – Never On Wait. In this way you push past the inertia and begin to develop momentum toward the new behavior.

When you are undertaking a move in a new direction, whether it is one degree or 180 degrees from your original path, it takes time and persistence. Yet the more promptly you take the next step the quicker you build momentum and the more you accomplish within a particular time.

Executive Coach M.J. Ryan, in an article entitled 5 Ways to Change Your Habits to Become More Successful, September 21, 2016, 9:00 AM EST, presented useful tools for changing habits.

1. Focus

We all want to accomplish multiple things, yesterday. But instead of diffusing our energy by undertaking several things at once, concentrate efforts on one thing at a time.

• Make it Actionable

Give your action certainty. For example, I will spend 10 minutes a day writing in my journal, or I will wake up 30 minutes earlier to exercise.

• Use a Habit-Changer

This is a phrase repeated like a mantra which reminds us of what we will do differently. Perhaps you are looking to change your tendency from being too bossy. You may say, “Ask don’t tell.” The more frequently we use it the quicker we adopt the change.

• Focus on the Horizon

We tend to look into our future and see how far we still need to go, even though we have progressed. Instead, we should reflect on what we accomplished. I got up 15 minutes earlier than I did a week ago to exercise. Or I saved $100 more than I did a month ago.

• Don’t Turn Goof Ups into Give Ups

Persistence pays. Since we are undertaking a new habit which has not been established yet, we are likely to disrupt our flow with a mistake or by forgetting to act. We need to get back up, refer to our Habit-Changer again and keep going. Begin to change a habit that is no longer serving you, right away because the time for action is N.O.W.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

(NIV, Philippians 2:13)

My mom is versatile with her hands. During my childhood, she made and sold stuffed toys as well as macrame. Also, she sewed clothing alterations for the family. In addition, she is a boss in the kitchen and her specialty is Caribbean food of course. Because mom exhibited her handiwork in multiple ways, the lives of my siblings and I were enriched. This enabled us to blossom into contributing citizens.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(NIV, Ephesians 2:10)

Consider that our world’s population is 7.9 billion people as of 2021. Yet each of us is unique. We individually reflect God’s handiwork. Yes, we are all bosses at something. Fortunately, some of us have already discovered what it is. But if you have not yet, keep exploring. You will find it. We were all created to serve in an awesome capacity.

Consider our forefathers and inventors who functioned in their gifts. Today we have a more advanced society and technologies they could not have imagined. From Thomas Edison who created the first light bulb to Elon Musk whose resolve launched the adoption of electric vehicles into mainstream transportation, with the Roadster.

Interestingly, for every scholar, athlete, or pioneer, there were close family and friends, many of whose names we may not be familiar with. Yet because these conduits exhibited their handiwork of training, provision, influence, resilience, wisdom, prayer, among others, they engendered prominence.

Each of us has some type of handiwork to display and we are instrumental in enabling someone else to exhibit theirs.