Paul Harvey, the famous radio news broadcaster has for years had a segment in his program called The Rest of the Story . My favorite episode is about a poor young orphan girl and the unknown woman whose small kindness let loose a very significant chain of events.
The young girl in question and her brother were orphaned due to a house fire that killed their parents. Not long after they entered the orphanage the brother died of influenza. It was too much for her poor psyche and she lost touch with reality. This was at a time before modern psychology had made much progress. The only thing they knew to do with this crazy kid was to lock her up like an animal in the basement.
About this time Dwight L. Moody came to town on a preaching mission. You might say he was the Billy Graham of his generation. Many people came to hear him preach. Among them was a woman whose daily tasks included bringing the little girl her food and shoving it under the door.
Pastor Moody’s sermon encouraged people to do something for the Kingdom of God. He assured them nothing was too insignificant when done in Jesus’ name. The woman took these words to heart. When she returned to work she decided to add one thing to her duties. Instead of just leaving the food she began to sit and read the Bible aloud so the girl could hear. Over time this simple act of kindness and the words of Holy Scripture helped Ann Sullivan regain her sanity.
For those who do not recognize the name, Ann Sullivan grew up to become the teacher for Helen Keller. Helen Keller’s accomplishments on behalf of deaf and blind are monumental. Helen is also known for her wisdom. Among her sayings is one appropriate for our topic:
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”
How true this was for the old woman who read the Bible to a poor crazy orphan girl. Little did she know what a great and noble thing she accomplished.
Here is another saying from Helen Keller, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can.”
Whenever I feel insignificant, or frustrated in my profession or life in general I try to remember the gift of that nameless woman. She could not do everything. Perhaps most of what she did seemed insignificant to her. Yet, when she did one small thing God used it for great and tremendous good. May we all follow the wisdom that flowed from God to Dwight L. Moody, to the nameless woman, to Ann Sullivan, to the world and do one thing as if it were great and noble. It just might turn out that way!
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See also HolwickID #3637