14th February 2025

The above words taken from a hymn that we occasionally sing at church, reminded me recently of an event that occurred just prior to Christmas. Together with a friend, I went to visit a 90 year old lady who previously attended church but now resides in a Care Home. We were taking along with us a card signed by our congregation with messages conveying their love and blessings to her. At the last moment we thought it would be nice to take a little gift as well, but as it was too late to buy anything I looked around my home to see what I could find and came across two small Christmas table decorations. They consisted of a small sprig of holly attached to a wire stem of artificial red berries, surrounded by red and gold tinfoil, they sat in a small flower pot – it cost me a mere 50p. ‘Not too much of a wow factor’ I said to myself, but packed it up to take along.

We had a lovely visit to our friend chatting over a cup of tea and when the time came for us to leave we presented our little gift to her and were taken aback with amazement at the unexpected joy it gave – no less, I am sure than if we had given her a beautiful bunch of flowers. She insisted on placing it on a small table right by her side so she could easily see it.

A further verse from the above mentioned hymn reads as follows:-

Does the place you’re called to labour

Seem so small and little known?

Well, it is great if God is in it,

And he’ll not forget his own.

These words were absolutely fulfilled on the day of our visit, and we can also see affirmation of this in scripture: ‘Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle… ’ (James 1: 17-18 MSG).

It is so easy to disregard some of the things we do in life as not being big enough or great enough to have a beneficial effect on others but we should never underestimate the worth of something however trivial it may appear to be, if God is in it! Many years ago my mother who, due to her age, considered herself not able to contribute anything too significant in her life, told me the following story. Whilst looking in a shop window she spoke briefly with another elderly lady who was standing next to her. As my mother went to leave, this lady turned to her and said these very moving words: ‘Thank you for speaking with me, you’re the only person I shall talk to all day.’ We may not always see the outcome of our actions on others, but with God in them we can be assured that they will have been good.

As I think of the visit to my friend in the Care Home, I find it hard to decide who gained the greatest gift. Was it her, because of the present we gave, or was it myself for the unexpected joy I received through her? I like to think it was a bit of both, because God was in it!

¹  Little Is Much When God Is In It  by Dwight Moody Brock and Kittie J. J. Suffield 

Local congregation:
Grace Communion in Lewes
The House of Friendship
208 High Street
Lewes
BN7 2NS

Meeting time:
Sunday 11:00 am 

Local congregational contact:
Hilary Buck
Email:  lewes@gracecom.church
Like us on www.facebook.com/Grace Communion Lewes 

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church