Barbie shares her thought for the week; little things matter.

One of my fondest memories as a child is of my mother preparing for us for Christmas and the summer holidays. She would take a big 50-litre bucket, she’d filled with water, sugar, ginger, some fruit and some other bits I don’t quite know. Then she’d take a piece of brown bread and she’d spread it with a paste made of yeast. She’d put it on the bread and then the bread would go face down into the bucket.

The bucket would then be covered with a tea towel and would be set aside and she’d taste it every day to see how it was going. Too little yeast would mean that the liquid would never actually turn into having a little bit of a fizz for us. Too much and we’d land up with a yeasty-tasting alcoholic drink that was not good for our pallets. It seemed that she knew just the amount to put in. It was such a small thing but it made such a difference to the drink.

This led me on to think about small things that make such a big difference in life. James talks about this in James 3 and talks about four things that make such a big difference.

He talks about bits in horses mouths and just recently we’ve seen that horses were running wild in London because they’d broken free from their owners. But those little bits in the mouths make such a difference and that’s why we can watch things like changing of the horse guards and parades like that that happen all the time with no incidences. That little bit, that little thing in the mouth makes such a difference. It talks about a small rudder steering a big ship and recently we saw a ship that was steered into a bridge in an accident. That little rudder didn’t do its job properly but it doesn’t show us the hundreds of thousands of millions of boats that every year go all around the seas with stuff for us and never go awry.

It also talks about a tiny spark that can set a great big forest of fire but doesn’t mention the sparks that are every day used to light our fires, our gas works, our cookers so that we can cook so that we can keep warm.

And it talks about the tongue that can say things that can boast but it also doesn’t talk about the little things that we can say that can make such a difference to somebody else’s lives.

It’s made me think about the fact that little things can be good and bad. How are we going to use the little things? What are we going to do this week that he’s going to be a little thing that he’s going to make a difference in somebody else’s life? Words that can break somebody down or words just a small word that can build somebody up in a time when they really need it.

That little gift that you give to somebody that you think doesn’t cost a lot but means so much to somebody else. That little thing that you do for somebody that you think is so inconsequential but means so much and is just what somebody needs. Those little things that we think mean nothing but can make such a difference in somebody else’s life.

This week I want us to really think about the things that we are saying and doing to others, the things that we can do, the things that are so little that we think won’t make a difference but do. If you think that a little thing can’t make a big difference, think about a mosquito in a room. God bless.

Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.