Milkshakes: The Significance of Small Things

My first few years as an immigrant in this country were very difficult since I had to deal with a whirlwind of new changes in the culture and language.  I remember that every day was full of a lot of stress and adversity.

At least a few times a month, this member of our church would pick me up from church (because I worked there as a pastor) and would take me to a Chick-fil-A to drink a milkshake. The first time this happened didn’t make much sense to me, but later as it continued to occur, I realized that my soul started to look forward to it. We didn’t have any plan or schedule on how this occurred and the majority of the time it was spontaneous. We were never together for longer than 30 minutes while getting milkshakes, but that small amount of time had a huge impact on my heart and it wasn’t anything more than the love of my friend Joe during this time. All this turned into the boost I needed to continue in everything that leads to today.

Something so small but so significant.

So it doesn’t matter what job you have this summer or what role you play in the mission. Don’t forget that the small things are what bring big changes and Jesus was all about that. Let’s look at how Jesus was an expert in the small things:

• Jesús after the resurrection. He is sensitive and gentle with them.  He offers exactly what they need. They were in the midst of a discussion and Jesus came and listened.
• He listened and listened as they poured out their pain and disappointment.

We can choose to listen, really listen to one another, and not spend our time just preparing a response to what is being said.

• In the garden what more could he have done for Mary than to call her by name. ( John 20:11-20).
• We can call other’s by name.  We can show them they are more then a task or number.

Doesn’t it make feel good when someone remembers our name?

These are just examples of small things, but little things make the world go round, either positive or negative.