By Jolene Anderson
Sweat poured down my face as I pulled another stubborn weed from my Aunt’s flower field. “Why did I decide to work here?” I wondered. I was beginning to regret my decision to help my Aunt all summer.
I looked up, trying to turn my thoughts away from the unenjoyable task I was performing when my eyes suddenly focused on the flowers around me. As I looked at the beauty, It dawned on me that there must be a specific purpose God had for me here. I began to look for that purpose as the days passed.
One day, as I worked alongside my Aunt in the field, an Amazon delivery truck bumped noisily into the driveway and continued down to the house. A few minutes later as the truck made its way back up the hill, my Aunt and I picked some flowers to give to the driver. She slowed to a stop and rolled down her window. As she grasped the flowers she began to choke up. She said, “I have been having an extremely hard day. I’ve asked God to put someone in my day to help cheer me up, and He did!”
She paused and then the tears began to run down her face as she said, “I think that God sent me here today.” She told us that her husband had been diagnosed with cancer, and she was taking it very hard. We prayed with her and as she began to drive away, I understood more clearly that even in the small things we can make a big difference.
As I look back over the experiences I had this summer, I realize there were several lessons God was teaching me. First, I think He was helping me to learn that I can and should do hard things. Not only will hard things grow my skill set but also teach me patience and other important life lessons. I also learned that focusing on others and the beauty around me helps me forget about the problems in life. Last, but probably most important, I learned that doing what may seem like small, unimportant, and unnoticed deeds can make a world of difference for someone else.