The Importance Of Small Things

How much is that doggie in the window?
The one with the waggly tail.
How much is that doggie in the window?
I do hope that doggie’s for sale.

I sang that song over and over as a little girl.
There were more verses that I would sing in the car with my mother and my aunt.
My aunt always had a flare for the dramatic and would hold the last note of the refrain.
She would hold it until my mother told her to stop.

I had never thought about something else being in the window until I read the news story.
Except in this case it was not something but someone.
That someone was a woman.
She is known affectionately as the “Grandma in the window.”

Louise is 93-years-old.
She has 30 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.
She has been married to her husband Dave for 53 years.
However, Louise has even more children in her life, a whole busload of children.

For five years, Louise had a daily habit of sitting at the front window of her home.
She waved to the children on Bus 7 as they drove by.
It was the children who gave her the name, “Grandma in the window”.
All of that changed a few weeks ago.

The bus driver on this Arlington, Washington route noticed Louise’s absence.
She wanted to find out why the sweet woman was no longer sitting at her window.
The children missed their Grandma in the window and were concerned.
The bus driver discovered that Louise had a stroke and was in the hospital.

The bus driver brought Louise a bouquet of flowers.
The next day as the bus passed her house, the children saw a sign.
The sign was in the window where Louise used to sit.
It simply said, Thank you, in big block letters.

The children wanted to do more so the bus driver took a picture.
She took a picture of all the children waving out of a window on the bus.
The bus driver went to visit Louise in the hospital.
This is from the kids; they miss you and want you to get better.

Louise’s throat is paralyzed from the stroke.
Straining to hear her, the bus driver passed on Louise’s message to the children.
I miss them, too.
I’m trying to get better.

Louise wants to return to her usual spot by the window.
It means everything in the world to her, her husband said.
It gives her something to look forward to every day.
We all need that: something to look forward to every day.

We need a reason to get up in the morning.
We need to be needed.
We need to feel appreciated.
We need to feel loved.

News reports of the story said that the children learned compassion from Louise.
That made me feel really special, one child said speaking of Louise’s daily wave.
It was kind of heartbreaking because she was always there, another said.
The children counted on Louise’s wave from her spot each day; they missed her so much.

Miriam Webster’s dictionary defines compassion.
Sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.
The children became aware of Louise‘s distress.
The children wanted to do something about it.

The picture of them waving out of the bus windows brightened Louise’s day.
Louise who does not always remember her own daughter’s name, remembered to wave.
The children felt special because Louise remembered them.
Louise took time out of her day to do something small.

What Louise did will never be put on a plaque.
What Louise did will not be commended at a town meeting.
Charles Spurgeon said it best.
He put Louise’s actions in perspective.

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.

Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.
Louise did that with a simple wave.
Louise did not wave to make a name for herself.
Louise waved because in this simple act, she told the children they mattered.

The magnificence of the ordinary.
It is not the grandiose we remember.
It is not the showy, flashy things that mean the most.
It is the cup of cold water, the kindness, the thank you note, and the hand on the shoulder.

Who despises the day of small things? (Zechariah 4:10)

Never underestimate the significance of the small things you do for another.
The things that are done when no one else sees are still seen.
They are seen by the One for whom it matters.
They are seen by the One who says that when you do it for them, you do it for Him.

Small things are not to be despised.
Small things are to be cherished.
Our life consists of small things that may never get recognized.
But they are recognized by God.

We long to hear God say, Well done good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:23)
The well done we hear is because of the small things we did.
The small things we did in His name.
The ordinary things that were extraordinary to God.

If your day is filled with small things and ordinary moments, rejoice!
They are the moments that mean the most to someone else.
They are the moments that mean the most to God.
They are the moments when we fade into the background, because it is not about us.

It is about them.
It is about Him.
It is about the small things you can do to bless another.
Just because.