Small Is Powerful

This year, try the “little way” of family prayer.

By: Louise Perrotta

Small things have power. We’re all familiar with this time-honored truth.

We encounter it in the folk wisdom of proverbs like “an apple a day” and the nursery rhyme in which, “for want of a nail,” everything “was lost”—from the horseshoe right through to the horse, rider, battle, war, and kingdom.”

We know the power of small things from countless experiences in everyday life. A tablespoon of cough medicine brings relief. A child’s smile gives hope. A word of encouragement, a chance meeting, or a stray thought leads to some significant change. On the negative side are the effects of a virus, a hangnail, a loose wire, a termite, and a rumor.

In the gospels, small things seem to get special attention. Jesus used many such images—a mustard seed, a buried grain of wheat, a talent on loan, a pearl, a cup of water given in his name, yeast, a speck…

Comments

Special Offers

• Subscription Offers »
• Renewal Offers »
• Gift Subscriptions »