Gandalf is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G – and, if you haven’t read The Lord Of The Rings, it’s an epic story of an epic quest – which pretty much crowns Galdalf at the ultimate, quest-guidin’ wizard around! It’s no secret we love the metaphor of the quest, and he is just the perfect personification of quest guide!
In The Lord of The Rings story, everyone asks him for advice and looks to him in times of need…Which…HEY! – Remind you of anything??…Kinda like what mentors do (on the modern day quest of course)! Ahhhh – we are suckers for the quest metaphor, and adding in that mentorship relationship is just the cherry on top!
No matter how BIG of fangirls we are for Gandalf, he tells us it is truly the small things that make all the difference! In the scenario of the book, he is talking about teeny-tiny hobbits (literal small beings) – which are also referred to within the story as ordinary folk. So, the whole story of LOTR is really about how something as small as a hobbit – and as ordinary as your average Joe – can make a difference.
And, it’s no mystery that we are facing some darkness in our world right now, with this COVID-19 quarantine. But, what we may not all realize is that the fear that lives inside our hearts can be the biggest darkness of all! AND – How do we combat darkness and fear? Light, bravery, and kindness from…ORDINARY FOLK!
So, what’s holding us back? Many of us can get intimidated by kindness in thinking that it has to be a grand gesture, or it doesn’t count. And, sometimes, the darkness can be SO scary that we think our small act has NO CHANCE against it! BUT, wanna know a secret? You may know that we hosted a #FeedTheLocalNeed FB Live-Athon this past Sunday to raise money for hot meals for hospital workers. And, do you want to know who the big hero was that came in to save the day, support those giving it all on the front lines, and overall change lives?!
It was NOT a grand and magical wizard named Gandalf, or a strong and herculean Troll. It was YOU! Our fellow questers. The majority of our donations were SMALL donations, given by ordinary folk, and TOGETHER, these small acts of kindness added up to a BIG number of meals given, and a MAJOR impact on the lives of those on the front lines.
So, NOW more than ever it’s important to realize that the things we ordinary people do, no matter how small, DO make a difference! And we can make the BIGGEST DIFFERENCE just by sharing the kindness within our own hearts!
Gandalf says the small things make the BIGGEST difference. So, we say, “Our podcast is only 5 mini minutes!”…Hear for yourself right here!