Small But Mighty: You Can Change the World

A couple of days ago, I caught just a little glimpse of pink out of the corner of my eye from the window in my office.  I turned my face to the window and leaned a little to get a better look at what I was seeing. To my surprise, I saw the most beautiful pink rose.  Just one. But in full bloom, living large, seemingly shouting, “Look at me!” A huge smile broke out across my face. 

Why was this a surprise, you ask?  Well, one of my sons had decided to remove some rose bushes from his backyard and asked if we wanted them. We planted the four bushes without knowing what color the roses were or even if they would survive the transplant.  (I don’t have much of a green thumb. I tend to look at plants and they just die. Please tell me you can relate and I’m not the only one!) It was early after the transplant, and I didn’t know if anything would bloom this year after being disrupted like that.

But there it was.  Big, bold and beautiful.  The rest of the plant appeared to be green and healthy too but no other flowers in sight yet.  I had to go outside to take a closer look because it was just making me so happy. The rest of the bush looked pretty unimpressive but this one flower brought me such joy to see. 

And I started to think about how we so often feel...What I can I do in this crazy world?  What can one little person do? Can I make ANY difference? Should I even try? Am I wasting my time?  Have you ever been there?

But I realized that just as this one little flower had brought such joy to me and lifted my spirits, it is so often the small things in life that have the biggest impact.

Life is made up of small moments
I’ve been reminded over and over lately of the small things in life that make up life itself.  The small moments in any given day where you can so easily be irritated, distracted, rushing, task-oriented, or just taking the moment for granted.  Versus how you can take those same moments in life and choose to remain undaunted, focus on what is important, slow down, enjoy people, and appreciate the moments. For example, just before I sat down to write this, I was putting together a highchair I just bought for my grandson.  I can be irritated by how hard it is and how I wish this task was just done, or I can be grateful that I have the privilege of being a grandma, the money to buy the highchair, the health to put it together and the husband to call upon for his muscles to get the piece I'm struggling with in place.  I can either rush through the task wondering why they designed the seat this way or can cherish the moments of life and say these are the moments that life is made up of.  This is life.  Don’t wish it away.

Small actions can have big impact
I’m reminded that one small flower brought me joy.  It really doesn’t take much to shift an entire atmosphere, does it?  What small thing could I do for others that would bring them joy? My husband is really good at this.  He brings me some Romolo sponge candy or some curd cheese as a small but so delicious snack. It’s small.  It’s inexpensive. I could go to the store and buy it myself. But it shows he was thinking of me, that he knows what I like and he wanted to make me happy.  Small but priceless.

One small thing can change a work environment.   One small thing can change a family environment. Just as it doesn’t take much to get us irritated or in a bad mood and ruin our day, it doesn’t take much to show others they are important, valued, loved or improve their day.  As Christians, the Bible calls us light. We should brighten any room we walk into and leave people better than where we found them.

Small but mighty
I’m reminded that although no other flowers joined my flower, my flower didn’t shrink back.  It may not have changed the other flowers in the bush but it had a farther reaching impact.  So, when you are at work and seem to be the only Christian, the only person interested in morals, working hard and clean language, though you seem to stand alone, you never know the impact your blooming forth will give.  Your prayers can change an environment and even your country! Yes, you, I’m talking to you. YOUR prayers, your choices, your words, your actions, can have far-reaching impact. How can little ‘ole you do that?  Because you are so much bigger on the inside than you are on the outside. You are one spirit with the very God of this universe. You are a united force to be reckoned with. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and working in YOU!  When you became saved, you are now IN HIM and He is in you. Not two spirits living inside your body but one spirit. Everything God has... is yours. Everything God is... is available to you.

We have only caught glimpses of this and had moments of victory in our lives.  It’s time to start making this a living daily reality! There is more to life than the chaos and monotony you have been experiencing.  I hope you’ll join me for my Bible study IN HIM: The Hope of Glory where we’ll be discovering 63 things that we now are or we now have since we are IN HIM. These, the present days, can be your glory days. Not your old college days or your future heaven days...but today!

This week remember...small things matter and they can have a mighty impact on the world around us...like my flower.