Small Things

“Content us, when we can only do small things, knowing that we are justified by amazing grace.”
-from a prayer by Daniel Benedict

During one of my first years of teaching, I started a small evening group of students interested in knitting. We gathered once a month, put on some quiet music, and practiced knitting and purling. Some students were working on their own projects, some were just learning to knit, and some were making squares for an afghan that we decided to create for a local nursing home.

One of the students who was learning to knit created a long, soft purple scarf and gave it to me – her very first knitted creation. While her knitting was simple (no purling here!), the gift was heartfelt and very gratefully received. I still have, and still wear, this scarf, frequently using it as both scarf and face-covering during COVID-era walks through the woods.

Small things, like this scarf, are precious. We often feel as though only grand gestures or Herculean efforts can make a difference, and this may seem to let us off the hook for the smaller things. But when we think of the power of a small gift, a brief word, a quick note, to change our attitude and our day, we know that we are not off the hook. As Daniel Benedict reminds us in the prayer cited above, on many days we can only do small things, but we must still do them. And the doing of these small things can be a vehicle for amazing grace.

Maybe doing more of these small things can be part of our Lenten discipline this year. To whom can we send thank you notes, greeting cards, friendly e-mails or Facebook messages or chats? Who would appreciate a five-minute phone call? Who needs to hear that we appreciate them during this season?

As for me, I’m going to send a message to my former student right now, thanking her again for the scarf and letting her know that it is still being used. Small things… And amazing grace!

-Heather Josselyn-Cranson