I have ‘met’ some amazing people in the blogosphere. People who have beautiful hearts and shimmering spirits that spill out in words and images and thoughts and ideas cascading in harmony onto the screen before my eyes every morning when I connect with their blogs.
One woman who has touched my heart deeply with her gentle spirit and shining soul is Sandra Heska King. Her blog last week spoke deeply to me about the significance of making a difference. I asked her if I could share it here this Sunday and she graciously agreed.
Thank you Sandra! Your light is a beautiful illumination of love and joy and hope.
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Small Cups and Petaled Moments
We gather around the T-shaped Sunday School tables, and she tells us about the time the lady next door decided to burn papers just as the wind picked up. But before long, the fire escapes its confines and surrounds the house.
She calls the fire department and runs next door to rescue the children, but instead the neighbor wants her to help fight the flames. To carry cups of water from the kitchen sink and spill them on the hot tongues that lick at the door.
So against her own better judgment, she listens to the neighbor’s need and to the Spirit’s whisper and runs back and forth until the fire trucks arrive.
And wonders all the while how these small cups of water can make any difference at all.
When the fire is finally out, the neighbor gushes her thanks.
Small cup by small cup.
We’re talking about the poor, really, and I don’t remember what triggered her to tell this story–except perhaps in the context of listening to another’s need instead of whooshing in with our own agenda.
But I think how easy it is for us to avoid doing anything at all because we wonder how our small cup can make any difference. And how big a splash does my $35 sent to one child on the other side of the world make in the fire of poverty anyway?
Small cup by small cup.
Because even a small word or act can have a big impact.
And one moment in time can change a lifetime.
The wind blows hard this morning, and I dodge a small thing–and almost make a big impact as I twist my ankle in the process.
Pink confetti swirls and settles at the edge of the concrete, edges it all wet and wilted.
My favorite tree, once dressed for the annual ball, tosses its skirts aside to take up the everyday green.
I hold soft petals, wet and limp. And remember–small petal by small petal.
How for a brief time they exploded in a flamingo flourish.
And I pray that I will see the needs and hear the whispers and give the small cups.
And that I won’t fail to caress every petaled moment before it fades.
Counting the Gifts
The scent of lilacs in purple and white.
The biggest grand girl raking.
My husband sliding closer in the pew and slipping his arm around me.
Trinity in a tulip.
A patch of wild violets.
The way the leaves dance against the sky.
Tigers baseball and a new sweatshirt.
Talking to the littlest grand girl on the phone.
The fragrance of fading Easter lilies.
Mounds of fresh-washed towels.
Porch rockers.
Guest Blog by Sandra Heska King (photos and poem by Sandra Heska King)
Dare Boldly 
fabulous photographs and a beautiful heartwarming poem in conclusion. loved the post louise. 🙂
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It is beautiful isn’t it Trisha. Sandra has such grace
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oh, posh…:)
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not all at once
do they appear
like the stars
when the night is clear
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What a lovely poem Nance!
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oh, posh…
🙂
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Yep, Nance. Beautiful. No pishes or poshes about it. 🙂
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Thank you so much, everyone. A question came up this weekend at the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College about why we “bother” to write when there are so many larger voices. At vespers the choir sang Eric Esenvalds’ A Drop in the Ocean that ends with a paraphrased quote from Mother Teresa.
“My work is nothing but a drop in the ocean,
But if I did not put that drop, the ocean would be one drop the less.”
Thinking that each of our cups helps fill the ocean.
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Wow what a great guest post, loved it and something all of us could do with remembering……….
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Beautiful photographs, great guest post. What I think will stay with me the most is the thought of “listening to another’s need instead of whooshing in with our own agenda,” a great thing for helping professionals to remember.
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Lovely post, Sandra.
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Beautiful imagery of how our small efforts can make a big difference! I will remember the story of the cup of water, thank you for sharing it with us!
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