Small and Simple Things
Small and Simple Things
By McKell Jackson
There is a story told of a small boy who was taken by his mother to see an amazing concert pianist, Ignace Paderewski. She hoped the musician would inspire her son in his own piano practice. After they found their seats near the front of the concert hall, the mother struck up a conversation with someone seated near her. When she turned back a few moments later, she discovered her son wasn’t in his seat. As she frantically looked around, something on the stage caught her eye. There was her boy, stepping into the spotlight where the grand piano glistened. The boy sat down on the bench and with one finger, began plunking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” The mother was horrified, but before she could make her way down the line of seats to the aisle, Paderewski himself made his way across the dark stage to the circle of light where the boy played. He leaned down and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Then with his left hand, he began weaving deep, low notes in with the boy's melody. Reaching around the boy with his right hand, he added a high harmony. The crowd was mesmerized.
In our church everyone is given the chance to accept a “calling.” A calling is an assignment or set of responsibilities which you are asked to perform for a time. Though the calling comes from the Lord and is extended through Church leadership, you still have the choice to accept the call or not. Sometimes these callings take us out of our comfort zone, forcing us to stretch our capacity and rely on the Lord to help us accomplish them. I was recently given one of these callings. Each week I tentatively contribute my own version of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, hoping that somehow it matters, that it will somehow make a difference. And with the Lord guiding and adding in some extra notes, miraculous things do happen.
This process reminds me of a verse in Alma, “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise” (Alma 37:6). I often feel like a “small and simple thing.” Elder David A. Bednar once said,
“Many people in our contemporary world are drawn to promises of big results that occur quickly and all at once. . . In contrast to what we so often observe in the world, the Lord ministers ‘one by one’ (3 Nephi 11:15). He enables us to learn ‘line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little’ (2 Nephi 28:30). And He accomplishes His work by bringing to pass great things through small and simple means.”
I just adore this concept. I love that the Lord lets us give our best effort, and then magnifies and expands the results. It is humbling and awe-inspiring. Elder Bednar said,
“Brothers and sisters, we should find great comfort in the fact that ordinary people who faithfully, diligently, and consistently do simple things that are right before God will bring forth extraordinary results.”
I am grateful for the opportunity to make “music”, even if it is small, simple, and imperfect. There is joy in the creating and the contributing. And then I get to stand back and watch God work His miracles.
By Small and Simple Things are Great Things Brought to Pass by David A. Bednar, April 2011
