A Mustard Seed

by Michele Boy | January 25, 2023

How about that snow, huh? What a beautiful sight! 
I went sledding this weekend with my daughter, twice! 
On Sunday, the ground was wet, the snow glistened, and the sun shone without wind. So I went for an hour long walk with my daughter, friends, dogs, and cough drops, lol.
  What a great way to start the week. Then I had a Monday like I haven’t had in a while. 
It started with a ton of worry over a situation I had no control over. Then things snowballed. Every single person I spoke to that day, every conversation was riddled with confusion. 
I was trying to help someone dealing with a large company. And it was getting on my nerves. 
Companies that are so large that they don’t even know who is in charge of what or what’s involved. 
 It really made me appreciate all the local businesses that let me call and speak to someone. No menu, just a local competent person that can answer my question. 
 It wasn’t just me. I had a family member trying to sort out an issue and the company has switched to a main number that filters the calls. A local company that is supposed to know us, but they didn’t even know where we lived. 
 I don’t want to become old and crochety. But I am going to say that I like small town businesses with local numbers, people who answer the phone and know who we are, and where we live. 
 Living rural has a lot of pros and cons but one of the bonuses is we all look out for each other. 
 If we outsource everything, how do we do that? 
My office door is closed more than I like, as I am out running errands, getting stories, and once in a while just running late. 
But I prefer that to someone in another town answering the phone and dealing with the frustration of not knowing the person on the other end. 
  Little things make Syracuse great. Like a local farm family digging out a school bus from snow to help the driver get back to town. 
Or the community coming together for a benefit for a local man .
 My husband forgot something and the person called him to let him know. My daughter left her glasses at the gym after basketball practice, but someone handed them to her coach and we got them back rather quickly. 
 I am almost always just a few blocks from my daughter’s school and I know all her teachers, administrators, paras, and her school nurse. 
  I feel like every week I cover small town goodness, or focusing on gratitude, or balance in my life. 
 Maybe it is redundant? 
But the other day’s frustrations caught up with me and made for a lousy day. 
I was never so happy to get to bed to start a new day.
 I like no traffic, no lines to go out to eat in town. I like texting or calling someone nearby to help.
I hope we don’t lose that. I hope more small businesses open here. I hope we keep the mom and pop vibe. I want to see small town America thrive. We have a lot of work to do. Hoping we each can do our part to help.There are a number of jobs available, tell a friend? 
What do you love about our small town? How can you contribute? When you see a good thing, don’t you want to see it thrive? 
This bible verse comes to mind. “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (NIV).
 What would you like to see here? Do you have the faith and the vision to make it happen? I think we do. 
I will leave you with Steven Curtis Chapman’s lyrics,

“The long awaited rains
Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
...My heart is racing and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice
That’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith
So here I go
I’m diving in
I’m going deep.”