A Small Serving
It continues to amaze me how the small acts we do tend to have a much larger impact than we expect. We often think that in order to make a large impact on the world, we must do some great thing. Here's the thing. God is in the small details of our lives. He's there every minute, every hour. His Spirit prompts us to do small acts of service probably all day long. How often do we follow through? A friend of mine has mentioned to me countless times of impressions he/she has received and didn't follow through because it was such a small thing. I'm impressed that this person receives those impressions, because I have a hard time hearing them. The key is the follow through.
I heard it said of Thomas S. Monson that what differentiates him from the average person is that he acts on the things we think about doing. This reminds me of visits we made to a very old, kind man, who would always offer my children ice cream. He would always have such a hard time digging the ice cream out because he had no ice cream scoop - he had a small spoon that would bend under the pressure of excavating the ice cream and loading it onto the cones. I thought to myself, "I'm going to buy this man the best ice cream scoop I can find". Amazingly, instead of just thinking about it for months, I did it. I bought the ice cream scoop. Actually, it was one of these bad boys below. It was an ice cream spade. The next time we visited we gave him the spade and he was thankful and commented on how much he liked it. It was so much easier to scoop the ice cream out.
The thing that was so touching was this: every single time we went to visit this man after that, and I mean EVERY SINGLE TIME for at least a year, he mentioned that
we gave him that ice cream scoop and he
loved it. You and I might think, it's a silly ice cream spade that cost eight dollars. For this man however it represented something so much more. It meant that someone was thinking of him. It meant that people were concerned for him. It meant that he was not completely alone.
So the next time you have a thought that you should buy something at the store for someone, or ask to watch their kids, or mow someone's lawn, or EVEN to buy someone an ice cream spade, don't delay. The ice cream is melting!
Labels: caring, helping, service, sharing, small things
Proud Parents
Have you ever met parents who think their kid/s are the best thing that ever happened to the world? They are constantly talking about how great their child is, how he/she is the cutest, the smartest, the best behaved, etc? I've been exposed to a lot of this. Is there anything more annoying? I used to think so, but not anymore. Let me tell you what changed my perspective.
I have a three-year old boy who I love to death. He's always been a daddy's boy. I used to lay with him in his crib at night so he would fall asleep. When I would get out, he would ask me to lay with him a "liddle bih" more. It was hard to say no. When the time came to take away his binkie, I
cried for over an hour in my room because I knew what it meant, he was no longer a baby. (My wife thought I was going nuts) He's been wrapped around my finger from day one.
When he was about nine months old I went on a trip and visited some unnamed people and was able to meet a baby boy born the same day as my boy. As I met him and his parents, and realized his parents were high on drugs at the moment, I held this boy close to me and felt his warm skin and my heart broke for him. His dad had spent his whole life in and out of trouble, in and out of jail, in and out of love, in and out of abusive relationships. His mother was in shambles as well. I knew from other sources that their relationship was rocky and that this child was not getting the care he deserved. As I held this baby in my arms I thought of the sad injustice of it all. What had this child done, or not done, to deserve to be born to a mother and father addicted to drugs? Why was he any less deserving of parents who adore him and could provide him the love, support, time, and everything else a baby wants and needs. That was a hard night. I called my mom and expressed to her how truly shattered I was, knowing this child would be neglected, forgotten, and not loved as he should be.
Ever since that moment, I find great comfort in
parents who love their children more than anything in the world. I'm glad that they have the best kids, the cutest kids, the smartest kids. The reality is, it's probably not true, but IT IS TRUE TO THEM. That's what matters. I thank God for every parent who feels that way about their child, because for every child that is loved with pure love, there is a child who goes without food, goes without warm clothes, goes without a clean diaper, and goes without hugs at night.
I'm reminded of Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk on children in the October General Conference.
"We can all remember our feelings when a little child cried out and reached up to us for help. A loving Heavenly Father gives us those feelings to impel us to help His children."
To all you annoying parents who feel your kids are the best thing that ever happened to the world, never stop feeling that way!
Labels: bragging, caring, children, family, kids, love, parenthood, parents
