Little Things Make a Big Difference

Welcome to 2022! 2020 and 2021 have been difficult years with all of the changes and transitions that have been required of us. We are all hopeful and praying that 2022 will be a much better year! While there has been much we haven’t been able to control in these past two years, and there will be many things out of our control in this new year, one of the things that is within our control is to do the little things – because little things matter!

I know we live in a world where BIGGER is BETTER and that what matters is the big and glamorous things. The big productions…the big images on Instagram…and the big headlines. However, the little things in life and in your life still matter.

This reminds me of a true story concerning World War II. One of the major dates in world history is June 6, 1944. This is D-Day. This date literally changed world history. Had it not been for D-Day, Hitler’s reign of terror may have never been stopped. And while President Franklin D Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and General Patton own the big headlines from this date and the war in Europe, there was a man who most of you never heard of that did a little thing – and without his little thing, we would not have prevailed on D-Day or perhaps at all in World War II, and Hitler’s reign of terror would have marched on.

His name? Andrew Jackson Higgins. Ever hear of him? He was a boat builder at that time in New Orleans. And despite the staggering amount of money, time and resources put into preparing for the D-Day invasion, the boats that the Navy was going to use that day, were far inferior to the design that Higgins came up with. He noticed some little things (little things matter!) that needed to be changed in their design to be most effective. Higgins was the man responsible for designing and building the LCVP, the small boats that brought the troops onto the beaches on D-Day. It is reported that more troops went ashore on Higgin’s LCVP boats than all other landing crafts combined.

Higgins noticed little things in the boats that the Navy had designed that needed to be changed. He made those changes in his design and those little things made all the difference! Higgins himself was just a “little guy” on the landscape of D-Day compared to the big names. You probably never even heard of him. But that doesn’t make his design or his life any less important. In fact, Dwight Eisenhower said, “He is the man who won the war for us.” That is pretty high praise. Those are words that tell you that his “little” contribution made all the difference, not only on D-Day, but to our entire world.

As you can see, little things and “little” people who fly under the radar matter! And little things mattered to Jesus as well. Listen to some of the things He said:

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…”

- Luke 16:10

“I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.”

- Mark 12:43-44

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”

- Matthew 25:21

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants…”

- Matthew 13:31-32

You get the idea from just these few verses that little things and small things mattered to Jesus. There is clearly a principle found in all of these – that when we attend to the little things in our lives, big things will happen for us and those around us. Higgins made a huge impact on the world by doing a little thing. We may never become rich or famous, but our lives will be filled with purpose and significance when we take care of the little things in our lives.

As we begin a new year, we often think of the BIG things we need to do or change. But I would invite you to think differently as you head into 2022 by asking what little changes could you make that will make a BIG difference for you and a BIG impact on others around you and in the relationships that matter most to you?

Little things just might make 2022 the best year of your life!

Until next month, may God bless you and happy new year!

Jack