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I opened the front door to a surprising sight: a large platter, heaped high with freshly baked cookies. There was no special occasion. My friend Kristie was just sharing her homemade treats because that was part of her generous nature. What I didn’t know at that moment was that the most important part of the gift would only be revealed when my family finished the cookies and we could see a quote in blue letters stretching across the empty porcelain platter:

“Do small things with great love.”
–Mother Teresa

After I washed the platter and tried to return it to Kristie, she refused to take it back, encouraging me to share it with someone else as she had done. A small thing done with great love.

My recent scripture study included the words of Alma the younger.  “… by small and simple things are great things brought to pass …” (Alma 37:6) While there may be many instances where this wisdom applies, I have been impressed with many small acts of kindness I have either received or heard about. I once read the book Random Acts of Kindness, a collection of true stories showing how people have served others, including strangers. This book opened my eyes to simple ways I could be a blessing to someone. Here I share a handful of brief examples from friends and family where someone’s kindness, however small, made a positive difference for another person. Perhaps they will inspire you to “… do small things with great love …”

Janice

As Janice approaches her eighty-sixth birthday, she continues to find ways to serve others. A large family in her ward was blessed with a baby girl with Downs Syndrome. When Janice asked a few weeks after the birth how she could be of help to the family, the mother responded without hesitation that she’d be grateful if someone could tend the baby occasionally so the parents could take their other children on some little adventures, since all the family’s focus had been on the baby’s special needs. Though Janice was unable to do many of the physical tasks she once did, she could still sit and hold little Audrey. She loved looking into the baby’s sparkling eyes and feeling her sweetness, and Audrey’s parents were able to have quality time with their older children.

Rob and Tasha

Several years ago, my husband was hospitalized for nine days with complications from Covid-19. Brad had developed pneumonia and was in the ICU on high flow oxygen. After a couple of frightening days where the outcome was very uncertain, I received a phone call from one of Brad’s good friends, Rob. He was concerned about how I was doing during this stressful time and asked if I had received a priesthood blessing. I had not. He offered to either give me a blessing or make arrangements for someone else to come and give me one if I wanted. I was grateful to be remembered in this way.

When I requested that he give me a blessing, Rob arranged to come over with his wife Tasha that evening. After the beautiful, hopeful blessing was pronounced, Rob and Tasha sat and listened patiently as I spilled out all my fears and worries for my husband. The combination of receiving a priesthood blessing and the kind attention of friends left me with the assurance that the Lord was aware of our situation and I could be at peace.

Michelle (names changed)

At their mother’s funeral service, four siblings were listed on the program as speakers. They spoke in order from oldest to youngest. The youngest sister, Kathy, who was terrified of being up in front of people, visibly trembled and struggled to speak through her tears–yet she wanted so much to honor her mother. After a minute or two of watching her baby sister struggle, the oldest sibling, Michelle, walked up to the podium and stood next to her sister. In quiet support, she placed her hand on Kathy’s back. Michelle never said a word, but stood there for ten minutes, giving her dear sibling the strength to pay tribute to their mother.

Emily

When my two-year-old grandson Micah was hospitalized with breathing issues, he was treated for a virus and released after three days. Unfortunately, a few days later, he contracted pneumonia on top of another virus and was admitted to the hospital again. It was a scary time for his parents as Micah struggled to breathe. For nearly a week it seemed that no treatment was effective.

My daughter Sarah stayed at the hospital with him almost around the clock, and though she tried to be strong for Micah, she was emotionally worn out with worries for her little boy who looked so tiny and lifeless in the big hospital bed. He was too weak to respond to the music therapist that stopped by, or even to the therapy dog who came to visit.

Each time Micah received Albuterol treatments, he would cry and scream, and Sarah had to pin him down so the nurse could administer his medicine. This was emotionally draining for everyone. I wanted to be with them at the hospital but was needed to tend Micah’s older brothers so their dad could work. After many days with little improvement in Micah’s health, Sarah was at the end of her rope.

The one bright spot in this dark time was Emily, the pharmacist on Micah’s medical team. Emily lived in the same ward where Sarah grew up, and it helped Sarah to see a familiar face each day as the medical team met in Micah’s room to discuss his condition and treatment. Emily often stayed after the team left, to talk to Sarah. On the day Sarah hit her lowest point, Emily recognized her exhaustion and stayed to listen to all of her frustrations and fears, giving her a much-needed hug of encouragement. Though I was able to talk to Sarah by phone, it was a huge relief for her to have the physical presence of such a compassionate friend supporting her at the hospital.

Carmen

In 2002, my parents began serving a fulltime mission in Chile. My father had previously learned to speak several languages, so he was able to pick up Spanish rather quickly. My mother, on the other hand, had zero experience with foreign languages until her time in the MTC. Though she studied diligently, learning to speak Spanish at age sixty-three was a tremendous struggle.

Soon after arriving in Chile, my father was called to serve in a district presidency and often had to attend meetings, which left Mom alone in their apartment. She studied Spanish on her own for hours a day but saw little progress. She was frustrated, lonely, and struggling with depression over her situation.

One day, a ward member named Carmen approached her. She had noticed my mother’s struggles and offered a solution: Carmen would help Mom with her Spanish and Mom could help Carmen learn to speak English. They met together twice a week while my father was in other meetings. This arrangement became a blessing to both women as they improved their language skills and, more importantly, formed a beautiful friendship–one that continues today in spite of distance. Carmen was an earthly angel, befriending my mother during an extremely rough time.

Sarah

Janelle was going out of town for a few days. As the mother of two young children, and pregnant with twins, she needed a getaway with friends. She dropped off her son and daughter at her sister-in-law’s house and left her minivan there as well so Aunt Sarah would have the kids’ car seats if needed. Janelle was happy to leave her car behind because the interior smelled bad and the scent exacerbated her pregnancy nausea.

Sarah recognized an opportunity to serve. Leaving her nephew and niece in her husband’s care, she drove the minivan to a carwash where the exterior of the car was cleaned, then she removed all of the trash from the interior, vacuumed it thoroughly, and wiped down every window and surface. To top off the job, she purchased car fresheners to help improve the scent. You can imagine how grateful Janelle was for Sarah’s thoughtfulness, and what a mental lift it was to come home to a sparkling, fresh vehicle.

Suzy

My friend Heather shared this story: “Seven years ago, my son Duncan experienced a medical condition that was potentially fatal. We spent two weeks in Primary Children’s hospital trying to find answers and watching our little seven-year-old go through all kinds of traumatic procedures, blood transfusions, and plasma treatments. I have never been so worried and exhausted in my life. I was emotionally depleted.

I received so many loving texts and phone calls, but I sadly didn’t have the energy to respond to most of them. I was grateful for the sweet people who brought fun toys and Duncan’s favorite foods. It was such a wonderful change of pace from hospital food and watching movies. But the most helpful thing for me was the night my sister Suzy showed up. She laid on one side of Duncan’s bed while I laid on the other. And we didn’t talk about the medical condition or how tired I was or what was hard about it. We just talked about regular life and silly, happy memories.

For a minute I got to escape the four walls of that claustrophobic hospital room and remember the good things, and laugh and realize that life was more than that heart-wrenching heavy moment. I honestly don’t remember Suzy bringing me soup or a card or treat, she just brought herself. That’s exactly what I needed.”

Anonymous

The past twelve months had been extremely stressful for my friend Tonya and her family. Acting as a caregiver for her parents while her mother’s dementia worsened was exhausting. When her mother finally passed away, relief warred with grief in Tonya’s heart. But the grieving process was interrupted as she was notified that the specialized care center where her adult daughter lived was closing down and she and her husband scrambled to find a new care center that could provide a safe environment and serious help for someone with severe mental disabilities.

When I texted Tonya a few months ago to check on her, I received this reply:

“I’m just now headed home from an unexpected colonoscopy. We’re stopping at In-n-Out for a burger on the way home as I haven’t eaten in three days! The new care center my daughter moved to in January was just closed by the state on May ninth, so we’ve been thrown into chaos again with even fewer good choices this time. We do not have a path forward yet and my heart is broken.”

As I sat staring at her text and praying that she and her husband would be led to the right situation for their daughter, I received another text from Tonya:

“Well, we just had our order paid for by the car in front of us at the burger place, Arizona license plates. Angels do exist in human form.” This little act of kindness from a stranger meant the world to Tonya that stressful day.

Do small things with great love.

It’s a positive mental exercise to remember times when others have served you or shown kindness even in the smallest and simplest of ways. It is a blessing to write them down to refer to in difficult times, or to share with your family. The next time you’re awake in the middle of the night, perhaps you can think of someone you know who could use a little kindness and create a plan to make it happen. “… by small and simple things are great things brought to pass …” (Alma 37:6)