Day 35: The Small Things

Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.  ― Mother Teresa

This is not just a great quote but it is the way I want to live my life.

I aspire to greatness.  I want Canterbury to be a great resource to the community, the marketplace, institutions and the church. In the scope of things, we are not a huge ministry.  We have limitations in the number folks we can serve.  But we can serve them well and do it with great love.

A student was taking a course at a local seminary and he was staying at Canterbury for the week.  I was walking through the lobby at Canterbury and we struck up a conversation that lasted over 2 hours.  I had things to do, details to cover but this moment seemed important so I lingered with this young man and we talked about life, church, ministry and mission.  When the conversation was wrapping up he said something profound, The last 2 hours were the best of my week, I learned more from you in these few minutes than in the 30 hours I have spent in class.

I was humbled.  I did think I said anything profound or noteworthy.  I had however given him time from my busy day.  The tasks I had to do still got done and I quickly got back on schedule.  This “interruption” was more important.  It was a small thing with great love.

I know I miss these opportunities all the time.  I am often too locked on getting the job done, scratching something off my list, moving on to the next thing.  I like to get things accomplished, sometimes at the cost of what is more important, life giving and even eternal.  I learned early on in ministry, People are more important than things.   I had that plastered over my desk in my first ministry position and 30+ years later it is still true.

Reflect:  What small thing can you do today to make a difference for someone else?

Become a Canterbury Partner