One Seed at a Time
by Rev. Donna Maurice-Winchell

My dad used to have a saying:  “Wait until our ship comes in.”  We often want the big things in life, but I have seen that little things add up to make a major difference in a lifetime that can be defined as good.  Often we spend too much time focused on the big things in life, and VERY little time focused on the little things.  But I have found that little things can grow and evolve into the big things that really matter.

I was thinking of some examples of this recently.  Take the mustard seed.  It is a little pod which, when opened, reveals thousands of individual seeds.  They seem infinitesimally small.  If one seed is isolated from the others, an almost impossible task, it appears as a tiny black, barely invisible speck on the tip of the finger.  Yet the potential for growth in each tiny seed is infinite.  Even a giant Sequoia will bear millions of seeds, but each seed is so small that it takes 3000 of them to weigh one ounce. 

A daughter, who lived in San Diego, called her dad on the East Coast to wish him a happy birthday.  She apologetically said that her gift would be late and small.  Then she added, "But someday, it may be the biggest present you ever received."  A few days later the postman delivered a small cylinder.  Inside, ready for planting, was a California Redwood sapling.

 Small things can make a major difference in life for good or bad.  Do not overlook the small, apparently insignificant things in your life. Give small things attention, and you will find that they can grow into something that can make a major change in your daily life.  I do believe that we can change the world if we begin changing our own world.  A simple act of random kindness; a smile to a stranger; a kind word to a frazzled parent; a shoulder to cry on – these small actions to make a huge difference in someone’s life.  I have a tool I use when I find myself getting off center during these busy times – I use “soft eyes”.   I intentionally allow my gaze soften as I encounter people in my day to day life and frequently am amazed at the change in the energy field that surrounds us. 

 Mother Teresa once said of her work, "We realize that what we are accomplishing is a drop in the ocean.  But if this drop were not in the ocean, it would be missed."

Take time this holiday season to give thanks for those little things in your life that make your life sing with color and joy.  Focusing daily on what we are grateful for opens us to a universal flow of good.   Focus on sowing your tiny seeds of change  – the big changes will take care of themselves.