Power in Small Places

I have been challenged recently about the impact I can have on the world that surrounds me every day.  I have been challenged to view my power in a completely different manner.  The last two weeks my church here in Argentina has been talking about the "good samaritan," and how we should help our neighbor.  Interesting enough I am in a foreign country, so my concept of neighbor has been stretched and challenged, but more then my concept of neighbor, my concept of power is changing.  What kind of power does a twenty-one year old in a foreign country, who hardly speaks the language have?

I have viewed myself in that light for years.  How does one small act impact a world that is in pain? The other day I was walking down the street and someone asked me for a Coke.  Simple, but I passed him, saying that I don't have any money.  A lie, but I did not see the benefit in giving him a Coke.  I walked a block, stopped, and prayed.  I was unable to continue.  Something was holding me back.  I asked for the nearest supermarket, and went to buy a coke, obviously to give to the man.  I did not say anything to him.  Simply gave it and walked away.  I have no idea the impact of such a small gift.

What kind of power do we have?

A storm was coming, as I was walking home form the university.  I passed by a elderly woman, who probably had eighty or more years.  She was walking with a cane and a bag of food or something.  I passed and turned back around to ask if she need help.  "Mi amor (my love)," she responded with affection, but she declined my offer since she only had a block to walk.  Again, I cannot understand what she really thought, or how a small gesture impacted her life.

What kind of power do we have?

This morning I was not in the best of moods, but in the midst of it I received a letter.  As I began to read this simple letter about life at home, about how she loves being a Grandma, about what she is learning from God.  However, the letter brought me to tears.  Feeling that I am loved, that I am not forgotten, and that someone cares enough to send a letter around the world to me was incredibly special.

What kind of power do we have?  What kind of power do we have?  In the smallest of actions, in the quietest of prayers, in the moments we feel the smallest, what kind of power do we have?  God is big, his strength is tremendous, and we have the same power.  So what kind of power do we have?