Small Things

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
- Mother Teresa 

There are many big problems in this world. Poverty, racial injustice, human trafficking, and the list goes on. My natural instinct is to feel completely overwhelmed by these issues. I want things to change, but don't know where to begin because the problems seem so impossibly massive. What can one person do to actually effect true change in our world? 

The truth is, we each have the ability to do something. Maybe it is a great thing, maybe it is a small thing. But what really matters is that we do it. Mother Teresa did not set out to eradicate poverty and win a Nobel Peace Prize. She saw people in her neighborhood who needed help, and decided she could meet that need. And then she did it again. And again. 

I have resources, skills, and gifts that can serve others. I could, if I wanted, hoard all these things to myself. Or I could use them to extend love to others. I choose the latter. 

My offerings to others may be small things, but things that I have the capacity to give with great love. I have a home to open up to others in need of a place that is warm and safe. I have mercy and compassion to pour into people who are hurting. I love to listen to others' stories and experiences, and have them feel heard and known. I have money and material things that can go towards people who have unmet needs. I am connected with friends and acquaintances who also have lots to offer, and can network those people to areas of need.

As I give myself to doing small things with great love, maybe I will do something significant in our world. Or maybe not.

Either way, I want to be a person who does something rather than nothing.