In My Small Way | Spirit Moments

There is great force and tremendous power behind small and ordinary things. A cup of water can mean life or death to a thirsty person. A grain of salt can make the great difference between an insipid dish and a tasty one. A mustard seed carries within it the potential of a luxuriant and fruitful shady tree. And when Christ proclaimed the Kingdom of God, he called not the rich and powerful. They probably would not have listened, believing they knew better that this lowly son of a carpenter. Instead, he called small and ordinary fishermen, the poor and lowly. And they left everything they had, which was not much to begin with, and followed him.

It would seem that those who heeded the call and followed Jesus did not have much to lose in the first place by doing so. The rich and the powerful would have been risking a lot if they did. Specially when Jesus challenged them to sell everything that they had and give it to the poor. We can be encumbered by what we possess and fail to hear the call. We may even be blinded by who we are refuse to heed the invitation.

With the small and the ordinary, I am down to the bare essentials. In this bareness, can I still see beauty, truth and goodness? Or do I need bells and whistles, tinsels and laces before I acknowledge that which is beautiful, good and true? Deep inside me, I know the truth. I only need to look at myself to see goodness. And there is great beauty in my everyday life.

I loved and learned a lot from this song of Michael Jackson:

           Maybe you and I can’t do great things
          We may not change the world in one day
          But we still can change some things today
          In our small way

I recently came across a news item that reported the US deficit has surprisingly gone down – no thanks to any great policy or intervention by big government nor any spectacular economic performance from big business. It was mainly due to small and ordinary folks working harder and longer, spending less and living simpler lifestyles, coping with cutbacks and sequesters that have diminished the small and ordinary benefits and services they have been used to.

I don’t do great things these day. I do small and ordinary things everyday. I drive Jane and Jonathan to school every day. Will this change the world? I do not know; but it does make a difference in the lives of Jane and Jonathan. I spend the first moments of every new day in silence and prayer? Will this change the world? Or, would it even change me? I do not know; but I join many who acknowledge and affirm that there is a Presence greater than all of us, looking after and caring for everything that is.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘

‘Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
Mark 9:41-50