You can feel so small standing by the seashore. The vastness of all that is before you expands much farther than your eye can see. What is happening on the other side? As tides continue to ebb and flow, what occurs as they come and go remains largely a mystery and the effects of their presence unknown in your sight. Yet, things are moving and changing as you gaze upon the water, as the thumbprint of their presence is left behind. The greater the wind and wave, the greater the effect. But even a gentle breeze leaves its humble mark upon the seashore on which you stand. The smallest pebble still makes a ripple in the great blue expanse of ocean waters. It doesn’t need to be big.
You never know the full impact of your smallest gesture or simplest of words. A yes or no, agree or disagree, here or there, this or that can influence time and history in ways you may never know. The Holy Spirit is like that: fierce and torrential, and then almost still and silent, creating and recreating nonetheless. Coming as a gentle breeze or a gusty wind, God’s Holy Spirit continues to move over, around, and into the waters of our lives. The Spirit brings fruit and unknown possibilities to what we humbly bring with us and that same Spirit eventually brings all to fulfillment in Christ.
The first disciples didn’t have much. They possessed simple faith and a willingness to go into unchartered territory with a love of their friend-God, humble offerings, and a knowledge that they were not alone. This allowed them to do amazing things with very little. Do you believe that you are being led and that you have a purposeful life? We often do not realize our value because we do not think that the little we have is good enough. How wrong we are! A little flour mixed with water and embraced by a prayer of blessing transforms simple offerings into the magnificent Eucharistic presence of God.
If the Holy Spirit can do such amazing things with these humble gifts of the earth, even more can happen with you. Don’t underestimate the value of the smile you gave a stranger, the door held open for an elderly widow, the listening ear offered to one who was lonely, the tolerance given to the wounded soul who is angry, and the loving shoulder you offered as a cradle under the head of someone in pain. Modest gifts offered with love can be transformed by the Spirit into wondrous blessings you may never know. It’s Pentecost. Trust. You are not alone.
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