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I'm thinking about the ways that a small change can make a big difference. Those of us who have lived up north or spent time traveling there in winter can attest that this 1/2 inch of precipitation doesn't seem like it should warrant all this disruption. Yet we know it is absolutely necessary. Perhaps the very few who are venturing out are doing ok, but that's partly because there are so very few of them. Imagine trying to drive on these roads in normal traffic. We don't have to imagine, cause we can recall the images from the pileup on I35W that left 6 dead last year. It didn't seem like too much when those folks ventured out, yet look at what a lifechanging difference it made.
Where else is this true? We know the stories - and maybe you've experienced one - of the person who's life is changed, maybe literally saved, because of a small act of kindness. The perhaps apocryphal story of the person who had decided in despair to end their life, only to encounter just one person who conveys to them that they matter, that maybe things can get better. It's certainly true that we have no idea what others are going through, how the person who acted like a jerk may be truly overwhelmed by grief, fear, or anxiety.
The Bible says "a gentle word turns away wrath" (Proverbs 15:1). I always assumed that was turning wrath away from the one who spoke the gentle word. What if it's turning wrath away from the recipient of the kindness. What if speaking a gentle word can literally change the course of another person's life? And what does it cost in the bargain? Usually not very much.
An entire life is simply a string of individual moments, one following another. So we cultivate habits of the heart (what Paul calls the fruits of the spirit in writing to the Galatians - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control).
Perhaps you are still considering daily intentions that will enable you to make progress toward your desired future (and God's desired future for/through you). In just a few weeks we will revisit this idea as we enter Lent, a season of reflection and fasting in preparation for Holy Week and Easter. In our yards we prune the branches of trees and bushes so that they can bear better fruit. What fruit do you want to see in your life, in your work, in your health, in your relationships? What is one intention you might make today, even a very small thing, that could create incremental, growing, and lasting change? Jesus talked about faith the size of a mustard seed - so small, and yet able to produce shelter and sustenance for God's precious ones.
Don't allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges before you. Simply identify one small thing, and do it. Tomorrow, choose again, fresh and new. See what the Spirit of Life might do.
See you Sunday!
Rev. Dr. Ken G. Crawford
Minister of Mission, Innovation and Operations
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