Small Things

I thought it was cute, then I realized he was serious. 

Mr. Johanssen called and asked for Pastor Mia to make a hospital visit. Mind you, Mia was my five-year-old daughter.

A month earlier, I was running errands with Mia when I learned that Mr. Johanssen had knee replacement surgery. Without a second thought, I headed to the hospital for a brief pastoral visit, with Mia in tow. 

We had a wonderful conversation with Mr. Johanssen, and before we left, I offered to pray with him. Before I knew, Mia quietly stepped forward, placed her little hands on his bandaged knee, and began to pray.

I don't remember her exact words. They were simple, just the heartfelt prayer of a child. But they were beautiful. Mr. Johanssen and I both smiled at the sweetness of the moment.

Two weeks later, Mr. Johanssen was at church, and he was walking normally. He told me that his doctors had never seen anyone recover so quickly from knee replacement surgery, especially an 85-year-old man. Because his recovery had progressed so remarkably, his surgeon decided not to wait the usual eight weeks before operating on the second knee. Instead, the second surgery was scheduled just four weeks later.

So, from his hospital bed, Mr. Johanssen called, not to ask for me, but for Mia to come and pray for him again.

This Sunday's Gospel reminds us that God's grace is often hidden in small things. Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, tiny, yet capable of growing into a tree where birds find shelter. He also compares it to yeast, almost invisible when mixed into flour, yet able to transform an entire batch of dough.

The world looks to celebrate what is big, powerful, and impressive. God, however, delights in working through what seems small, ordinary, and easily overlooked.

Our faith may sometimes feel small. Our acts of kindness may seem insignificant. Our prayers may feel inadequate. Yet their power does not depend on how impressive we are, or how strong our faith is, but on the One in whom our trust is placed upon.

So, Mia and I returned to the hospital. Once again, she laid her hands on Mr. Johanssen's bandaged knee and offered the simple prayer of a five-year-old. Once again, his recovery astonished his doctors. 

Several years later, I met the orthopedic surgeon who had performed Mr. Johanssen's surgeries. During our conversation, he told me that he had long ago rejected faith in God. But he also confessed that he had never been able to forget the story of a five-year-old child whose prayers accompanied two extraordinary recoveries. That story, he said, had caused him to begin rethinking what he believed about God.

A mustard seed.

A pinch of yeast.

The earnest prayer of a five-year-old.

God's grace is often hidden in small things. And sometimes, those small things become the very means by which God changes hearts, restores hope, and reminds us that nothing is too small to be used for God's kindom.

Pastor Sunny