Prayer: Small blessings, big impact

Oh, God, it’s winter. I think of the small blessings of cold and chill, ice and snow, and how the season can have a big effect on my mood and feelings, if I let it.

Small, one-of-a-kind snowflakes create big, white blankets of beauty and soon receive squeals of delight as youngsters, muffled and gloved, hop on sleds, careening down hillsides.

Small droplets of water freeze to become big cave-like stalactites, hanging, fine-sculpted ice formations catching the sun’s rays, delighting my eyes with frigid, simple beauty.

Small twigs and branches, framed in red sunrise-sunset-skies, reveal all the intricate bigness of the mighty oak or maple, feasting the looker who pauses to see with magnificence and wonder.

And what of me, O God?

I offer small gestures of support — A smile, a kind word, a helping hand, A visit with someone who’s lonely, A listening ear, a warm embrace — Trusting all to the impact to your Providence.

(Originally published in the Winter 2019 issue of HOPE magazine.)