When I was in high school, I worked for a lady who had been afflicted as a child by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. As a result, she was confined to a wheelchair.  Remarkably, her disability did not stop her from going to college and graduate school.  When I met her, she was a social worker at our local hospital.

I performed what you might consider to be nurse’s aide work for her. I sometimes would go to her house before school and bathe her and help her get ready for work.  At other times, I would stop by her home in the evening to help her get ready for bed.

It wasn’t complicated work. It certainly didn’t require a degree or a certification.  At the time, I didn’t think I was doing anything terribly special.  However, that job changed me.  It made me confident in my ability to help another human being.  It took away my squeamishness for dealing with the physical needs of others.  And it reinforced to me that our bodies are just houses for what is most important about us –our thoughts, our words and our souls.

That job was a small opportunity by the world’s standards. The pay was minimal.  It was part-time.  It wasn’t at all glamorous.  And yet I am a different person today because of it.  There are no small opportunities.

God presents us with opportunities in order to transform us. Those opportunities may not seem like much on their face.  But don’t discount them.  You don’t know how an opportunity might change your life.  Moreover, you don’t know whose life you might change if you take that opportunity.

Jesus, a young man around 30-years-old, gave 12 other men the opportunity to follow him. There was no money involved.  He couldn’t pay them.  There was no prestige.  In fact, by following him they put their lives at risk.  Yet by accepting that opportunity, the disciples had the honor of participating in events that changed the course of human history.

Your opportunities today may seem small. But have no doubt that God can do great things in you and through you in any situation.  You just need to say yes.  And then you need to bring your goodness, kindness and compassion to whatever you do.  Let God mold you.  Let Him use you.  And remember that there are no small opportunities.