Article September 19, 1931 Issue

[Written Especially for Young People]

The Greatness of Small Things

Mabel Reed Hyzer

ONE by one the little yellow nasturtiums dropped into the flower basket as they were picked from an abundantly blooming row. Presently the thought came to the one who was picking them, If these flowers were only larger it would not take so long to get a nice bouquet. But an hour later, when a large bowlful stood on the library table, it was realized that the nasturtiums expressed a particular kind of loveliness all their own, although they were so small, and that nothing could take their individual places in the flower kingdom.

So it is with our days. Sometimes we feel that if we could just do what we consider "big things," we should count for so much more in the scheme of things; but our individual tasks and opportunities have a certain place in our experience, and not one is so small that it may be neglected. Jesus pointed out the heavenly Father's care for all small things, saying that the sparrow was not forgotten, and even the hairs of our heads were all numbered. So, should not we regard small things in a careful way and appreciate them?

Probably that which we use more thoughtlessly than most other things, because they seem so small, are our words. We have no certain way of telling just how much good a kind word will do in the right place, perhaps helping not only one, but many others. A kind word is like a stone thrown into a mill pond; it causes at first only small ripples on the surface of the water, and then wider and wider ones until the banks are reached.

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