Small Gesture, Big Difference
Today I am grateful for our washing machine and dryer and for the smell of fresh, clean laundry.
I am also grateful for small gestures of human compassion directed my way. Maybe it is just a friendly smile and a hello when I need one. Maybe it is someone letting me go in front of them in line, just when I am in a hurry. Strangers making a difference with a little show of kindness.
Maybe it is my loved ones doing the same sort of things. Taking care of a chore that is usually mine. Going to run an errand so I don't have to. Gently suggesting to me that something can wait until tomorrow. Small gestures that make a big difference in my days. And give me hope.
I was thinking about this because of something I was reading in Archbishop Desmond Tutu's biography. When he was a young boy, living in the separated world of apartheid in South Africa, a simple gesture by a white man made a profound difference in his life. Tutu and his mother were out walking when a white man tipped his hat to Tutu's mother. It was the first time he had seen a white man pay respect to a black woman.
The white man just happened to be an Anglican priest, Trevor Huddleston. He went on to become a bishop and was also active in the anti-apartheid movement. In the words I read online "The incident made a profound impression on Tutu, teaching him that he need not accept discrimination and that religion could be a powerful tool for advocating racial equality." Small gesture. Profound impact.
You can hear a little about it in this YouTube clip here. And you will hear more about how Trevor Huddleston's compassion helped Tutu when he was sick and in the hospital.
I appreciate true stories like this. True stories about how we touch one another's lives. Sometimes without even knowing it.
Today I will look for opportunities for small gestures of hope and kindness. Those I can give and those I receive.
I am also grateful for small gestures of human compassion directed my way. Maybe it is just a friendly smile and a hello when I need one. Maybe it is someone letting me go in front of them in line, just when I am in a hurry. Strangers making a difference with a little show of kindness.
Maybe it is my loved ones doing the same sort of things. Taking care of a chore that is usually mine. Going to run an errand so I don't have to. Gently suggesting to me that something can wait until tomorrow. Small gestures that make a big difference in my days. And give me hope.
I was thinking about this because of something I was reading in Archbishop Desmond Tutu's biography. When he was a young boy, living in the separated world of apartheid in South Africa, a simple gesture by a white man made a profound difference in his life. Tutu and his mother were out walking when a white man tipped his hat to Tutu's mother. It was the first time he had seen a white man pay respect to a black woman.
The white man just happened to be an Anglican priest, Trevor Huddleston. He went on to become a bishop and was also active in the anti-apartheid movement. In the words I read online "The incident made a profound impression on Tutu, teaching him that he need not accept discrimination and that religion could be a powerful tool for advocating racial equality." Small gesture. Profound impact.
You can hear a little about it in this YouTube clip here. And you will hear more about how Trevor Huddleston's compassion helped Tutu when he was sick and in the hospital.
I appreciate true stories like this. True stories about how we touch one another's lives. Sometimes without even knowing it.
Today I will look for opportunities for small gestures of hope and kindness. Those I can give and those I receive.
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