Small and Simple

. . . by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise (The Book of Mormon, Alma 37:6).

It is interesting to me that the smallest organisms created by God can cause the greatest damage to mankind--humans who are 100 times their size.  Nature continues to teach me object lessons.  I was "confounded" by one this week.  A small, unnoticeable tick somehow bit me.  I never knew I had a bite, but I became infected with a disease that has a high mortality rate should it go untreated.  Luckily, man has created a way around these little buggers, and I was able to get on an antibiotic, which after 5 days of absolute misery is now treating the illness.

While it is a little disconcerting to me that lives can be changed by such small means, I also realize that if God created these small creatures with such great, albeit harmful potential, the potential of his noblest creation, mankind, must be exponentially greater.  We have seen the realities of man's misuse of their capacity for greatness in more ways than one over the past several months, even days, but what about our capacity for good?  What unharnessed, unacknowledged potential for good do we have inside us?  What can we create that would change lives for the better?

In an address to women,  Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.  No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.  You might say, 'I'm not the creative type.  When I sing, I'm always half a tone above or below the note.  I cannot draw a line without a ruler.  And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.'  If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe.

So I say, even though we may feel small and simple, let's make great things happen!  God created us to do just that.

It's amazing what you can learn from a tick!

Watch this beautiful 2 minute video:
Create