Small Things

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

Helen Keller

Spring is slowly coming to life, and it won't be long until these lovely geraniums bloom in my garden in Maryland will announce that Spring is definitely here!

Small things. The majority of us are here to accomplish small things. And what a difference small things make.

A small thing changed my life. A little note with a few words written on it changed my thinking and attitude. It brought me out of despair and into a purpose.

"Great works do not always lie in our way, but every moment we may do little ones excellently,

that is, with great love."

Saint Francis of Sales (1567-1622)

I love Magnolia blooms and remember stopping on our way to Lancaster when I saw a lovely tree full of blooms to get this snap.

I liked Helen Keller's quote because the things that I do are small things. It may be baking your special treat and taking it to someone. It may be writing a note to send God's love to a hurting heart.

A small thing is thanking your Sunday School teacher who studies each week to bring an interesting lesson each Sunday morning.

It's listening to someone and hearing their heart. It's saying thank you when someone puts forth effort to accomplish a task that no one but you may know about.

It's dialing a number and saying hello to a friend. Sharing your heart to help another. Offering support for one who is lost. It's sitting in the nursery to care for a baby. It's teaching small children God's way.

"Is your place a small place? Tend it with care!--He set you there.

Is your place a large place? Guard it with care!--He set you there.

Whate'er your place, it is not yours alone, but His who set you there."

John Oxenham (1861-1941)

There's many "mothers-in-waiting" and remember snapping this picture, along with many more of lamb already born in a barn in Maryland.

It's thanking your pastor for standing tall for Christ and never wavering in his allegiance to the gospel. It's praying for him every day so he has courage and strength to speak out the truth of the Bible.

It's telling someone you're praying for them and the situation at hand. And then really doing it. A very small thing that reaches the heart of God.

I think God wants more small things done than big things. He's gifted a few to be giants along life's way. But it's the small things that people do everyday that can change a heart.

I'm thankful for those who have been called to fulfill big things in this life. I'm drawn to them, appreciate them and stand with them. We learn a lot from those called to do big things. And I'm thankful for those called to do small things.

Whether you are called to do great things or small things, faithfully do your part. There will always be someone who catches your vision and finds hope because of you. And hope goes a long way in living this life.

"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way."

James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888)

I was at a retreat in Hershey and found this family while walking around the grounds of the hotel.