Little Gestures, Big Impact

Tonight my friend Aleah and I were privileged to hear our friend and fellow blogger extraordinaire Jon Owen speak to the Landmark college group. Since Aleah are both--ahem--well past college age, we felt a little awkward crashing the college class. Thankfully, no one called us "Ma'am" or tried to direct us to the old fogies class. In fact, one young man asked us what college(s) we were attending. Bless his heart. Of course, he was wearing glasses so there's a chance that his prescription was way overdue for an update, but we prefer to think that we don't look as old as we feel.

But I digress...Being amidst all the college students reminded me of my days in college. I was notorious among my friends for receiving mail nearly every single day. Thanks in large part to my loving family and a few magazine subscriptions, rarely a day went by that I didn't receive a letter, package, magazine, or some other piece of mail.

One of the most memorable pieces of mail I received while in college was during my freshman year. An acquaintance from back home, an older (as in late 20s at the time) woman who our family had known for many years, sent me a kind note of encouragement and a book of stamps. It probably cost her all of $5, but to a perpetually broke college freshman, those stamps were like gold. I'm not sure if it was actually a bribe from my mother so I'd write home more often, but if it was, I'm sure it worked.

A small gesture, to be sure, but one that I still remember more than a decade later. I didn't keep the note that Sonya wrote me, but throughout the past 10 years or so I've accumulated a box of letters and cards given to me from friends and family. Some are funny, most are sweet. Some are cards of comfort and encouragement, sent or given at just the right time. Some are cards that just say thank you. Again, those cards didn't cost much, may not have taken much time to write, but I treasure them.

Sometimes, it's the little things that you give others that mean the most. Today I shared a piece of chocolate with a co-worker of mine. Big deal, right? Well, I consider myself a chocoholic, so this was a sacrifice on my part. My co-worker is not a Christian. Who knows what impact this tiny gesture will have on her?

I want to do more to impact my world. I want to make a BIG impact. But sometimes those big impacts start small. I need to remember that God can use even the tiniest of circumstances to do big things.

And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Col. 3:17, emphasis mine)