Every Act is Significant
28th August 2010 by Jarrod Newton
It was just an ordinary day...
Last Friday I stood under the back of an open van chatting with a group of guys.
Some others and I had gone out as part of a regular program to provide meals to the homeless. There wasn't much to it. Hand out some sandwiches, make some hot drinks, chat to whoever turns up.
As the hour came to a close we packed up the van, said our goodbyes and prepared to leave. There was one elderly man who lingered as though he wasn't prepared for the evening to end just yet. He came over to me and we smiled awkwardly for a second. Then he began to cry.
"Thank you for remembering us," he said.
Your 'little thing' could be a big deal to someone else
It was a simple comment for a simple act and yet I was struck by the weight of it. I hadn't thought heaps about the significance of what we were doing. Just a few sandwiches and a chat, and to be honest, most of the guys who were there that night probably would have still eaten even if we weren't there.
Yet, somehow the simple act of being this mans life for that single hour and chatting about politics and the weather had taken on a huge significance which I hadn't anticipated.
It made me wonder about all of the little "acts" of life which I too often assume are meaningless. The random interactions with people, simple encouragements, listening when someone needs to talk, a hand when one is needed, a prayer, a smile... Yet, as I think about it, these are all the kinds of things that have been so meaningful and transformative in the bigger picture of my life when others have done them for me. Have you experienced this?
Big things always start small
Have you ever felt like the little everyday things of your life aren't that meaningful? You don't have to be the Prime Minister or building hospitals in Africa to be changing people's lives. It starts with the simple ways you choose to treat the people you see today. Never doubt that the smallest acts of kindness can change someone's life, they are usually the things that do.
Every act is significant.
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