No Small Thing

Easter is a special time, a chance to be with family, share a meal, and hopefully spend some one on one time with the people you love. But if you’re a Christian, it’s also the most important holiday of the year where we should probably take time to reflect on the sacrifices made on our behalf.

It’s obvious that the sacrifice Jesus made to suffer and die for us was absolutely amazing. I will forever consider Jesus to be the kindest and yet bravest example of a loving being there has ever been. But I think it’s important to remember that God also made a huge sacrifice. He not only gave up His only son to be beaten, scourged, pierced and spit on, He actually allowed him to die. He did it out of love but what a huge sacrifice that was. I have four children, and I know there is no way I would be able to let any of my children suffer like that, no matter what the cause. But God did it out of love and Jesus taught us what true sacrifice is all about. But as I thought about that concept, and all that Jesus did while he was on earth, I realized that sacrifice can come in many different forms.

Over Easter Weekend, my wife and I rented a house in Lake Arrowhead and invited some of our family members. Unfortunately, my wife came down with a severe cold the day before we left (on top of her ongoing pulmonary issues) so she was really feeling weak and sick. But there she was anyway, cooking, cleaning, and showing everyone a good time. As impressive as that was, there was one small thing that she did that really highlighted her self-sacrificing nature. Despite being super sick, she made time to wash and style her Mom’s hair, which made her Mom super happy. I should probably mention that my wife’s Mom is suffering from a severe illness herself and has been for over a year, so she hasn’t had a lot to smile about. Anyway, it touched my heart to see my wife, as sick as she was, making the time and expending the love and energy to make someone else feel special. It may sound like a small thing, but it’s not. Every time we take some of our own time and energy to help someone else, even in the smallest way, we mimic Jesus… and that’s no small thing!

The world is made better not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, 

but also by the millions of tiny pushes of each and every faithful person.

~ Helen Keller