When Small Acts Become Sacred Moments

As a member of my church, one of the things I most enjoy is using my spiritual gifts from God to serve wherever I’m needed. That has looked like playing with toddlers and teaching pre-schoolers as their parents sit in the service. Sharing my story with groups of people who don’t know me yet. Helping prepare and serve meals for special occasions, and taking meals to people when they’re ill. Though introverted, I also have a social streak, and I have enjoyed the hustle and bustle of working in a busy kitchen, preparing games, activities, or projects for large events, and participating in set up and take down for various events.

As you can imagine, my illness has stripped away my ability to do most of these things. This has sent me seeking different ways that I can still be an active part of my congregation instead of feeling like I do not have anything of value to contribute.

Through this season I have learned that Gifts from God are not always wrapped in brilliance. Sometimes, they arrive quietly—like a whisper, tucked deep into the folds of who we are. For me, one of those gifts is encouragement. It does not roar; it does not shine with spotlights. It is a candle in a darkened room, a warm cup of tea set down beside tired hands, a few words penned in ink that somehow carry light.

From time to time, God nudges me—

Write the note.

And so I do.

A card on a desk.

A folded envelope slid into a mailbox.

No fanfare. No flourish. Just I see you. I thank you. You matter. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve learned that God’s timing is far better than mine. That a sentence scribbled in the quiet has found its way into someone’s weary moment like rain on thirsty ground.

This is the mystery of the gifts He gives us; we offer them in faith, and He multiplies them in grace. Your gift may not look like mine. Perhaps you speak life through the meals you prepare, or through the way you listen without rushing.

Perhaps your gift is order in a world of chaos, or joy that bubbles into laughter in heavy spaces. Whatever it is—hold it with open hands. Let God place it where it’s needed most. And do not think it too small. The smallest seed, after all, can become the tallest tree.

This week, listen for His whisper. Offer your gift—quietly, humbly, freely. You may never see all the places it will bloom. But He will.