...is only your starting point - not your ending point.
A few weeks ago I saw something I'd never been aware of. On the news they announced the birth of a panda cub. As they showed the picture of the Mama Panda - she seemed to be trying to have "a meal." After a few moments of concentrating on the screen, I had to ask one of my children "Where is the cub?" He knowledgeably and respectfully pointed out that the pink newt-looking thing in her mouth - that I thought was a "Meal-to-go" - was the cub. Oh my!!!
A few weeks ago I saw something I'd never been aware of. On the news they announced the birth of a panda cub. As they showed the picture of the Mama Panda - she seemed to be trying to have "a meal." After a few moments of concentrating on the screen, I had to ask one of my children "Where is the cub?" He knowledgeably and respectfully pointed out that the pink newt-looking thing in her mouth - that I thought was a "Meal-to-go" - was the cub. Oh my!!!
I couldn't get the picture out of my mind - yes that's the actual picture from the news*. The first thought that came to my "Never despise your small beginning." And here are 2 verses that tell us why we shouldn't.
Job 8: 7 - Where you began will seem unimportant [Though your start was small], because your future will be so successful [your end will be exalted]. (EXB)
Putting it in Contemporary English, "Your future will be brighter by far than your past." (CEV)
Zechariah 4:10 - Those who have made fun of this day of small beginnings will celebrate when they see Zerubbabel holding this important stone. (CEV)
Curiosity and a desire to learn made me look up a bit more about baby pandas. The first thing I saw that struck me is "A cub is just 1/900th the size of its mother - one of the smallest newborn mammals relative to its mother's size."** Can you even imagine 1/900th of something - that picture is a good depiction for sure because I sure wouldn't have imagined it on my own.
So what does this say to me? The very same thing as the title of this post:
"Your starting point...is only your starting point - not your ending point.
So do not despise your beginning."
It's what you do after your starting point that will determine if and how successful you will be.
It will also determine whether or not you're celebrated by those around you; we all know:
"Success has many friends."***
A lot of times, we're encouraged to "start small" but we must never stay small. For the panda cub to grow to an adult panda, it has to maintain a particular lifestyle and diet. We must live disciplined lives and keep doing the right things because "Little drops of water make an ocean."
We can also learn from Isaac, he only got God's blessing of increase on what he sowed:
Genesis 26: 12 - Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the Lord blessed and favored him. (AMP)
Have a (small) starting point...and move on from there - don't stay small. Your end will be great!
Source:
*** Greek Proverb
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