Dear Friends,
A friend handed it to me at a recent men's
breakfast. It was a simple gift-a knot of wood with a bent nail protruding from
its center.
I looked at it quizzically, and then my friend
asked, "Don't you remember the story?"
And then it suddenly dawned on me. A week
earlier he had responded to one of my Leadership Thoughts with the following
story.
It was the story once passed on to him of the
"Nail Straightener."
Construction workers were putting up a new
building in a poor area, and a very old member of the town wanted to help in
the construction.
The builders gave him a place to sit, a rock
and a hammer, and if a nail got bent by a worker, they would send it to his workstation.
Because nails were too expensive to throw
away, the man would straighten the nails, and they then would be brought back
to the builders to be used again.
The man felt valued in playing a small part in
the building's construction.
My friend said to me, "I am always
looking for small things to do in the church. It may not be much, but it's one
less thing that someone else has to do."
He told me, "Whenever I get a thank you
for doing something small, I always take the opportunity to tell them this
story, for it is a wonderful reminder of how significant little things can mean
to the recipient."
Today I am staring at his little non-descript
gift of wood containing a simple bent nail, and I am reminded of the fact
that little things do mean a lot.
And later on that morning, after the breakfast
was complete, I witnessed my gift giving friend going around collecting the
dirty plates from the table, a small and menial act of service, but not small
in the eyes of this friend and certainly not small in the eyes of our Creator.
I treasure this little gift from my friend,
and as I lay awake last night wondering what I would write about this morning,
my mind recalled a 'sacred' dinner I had just enjoyed.
You see yesterday was a hard day for those of
us in the Crenshaw family who are still grieving the loss of my wife and our
mother.
It was Jean's birthday, and birthdays and
anniversaries have a way of accentuating the pain experienced in one's grief
journey.
To remember and celebrate Jean's birthday, two
of my daughters had planned a take home dinner from the Olive Garden, one of
Jean's favorite family places to eat.
There were white daisies on the table, Jean's
favorite flower. There was Stewart's root beer and lemonade on hand, two of
Jean's favorite choices of refreshment. There was an apple pie, her favorite dessert
delivered by a family in-law. These were all small and simple but thoughtful
and touching expressions of love for one whom we all miss so very much.
And then there were phone calls from neighbors
in western Pa. where we served, texts and e-mails from friends in former
churches in New Jersey and Fort Lauderdale, and a gift from our next-door
neighbors.
All the above expressions of love were little
things in themselves, but not little or insignificant to a family going through
the painful loss of our precious wife and mother.
My heart was filled with gratitude as I experienced these small but simple expressions of love that meant so much to me and my family.
Yes, little things do mean a lot.
Charles Simmons said it best: "True
greatness consists in being great in little things."
I hope you and I will never forget the
significance of that bent nail and knot of wood, and how important little
expressions of love can be to the one who receives them.
Yours in faith and friendship,
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