[Note: I wrote a guest post for Maya Pawley’s blog, River of Words, and it was published yesterday. Make sure to check out her blog and subscribe if you want to read great posts filled with writing tips and tricks, book reviews and recommendations, and more, as well as really amazing faith-centered posts! You can read my post Clean Content, Clean Conscience here!]

Recently I was doing that thing where you talk to yourself for an hour because everyone else is asleep…we’re going to forget I said that.

Let me start over: I was thinking *cough cough* and was wondering why I constantly think about every little thing that somebody does for me.

For instance: two-ish months ago I was at youth group in Washington and was hanging out with my small group. There were about four different conversations going on and one of my small group leaders was standing across from me. She bent down, picked up a small rock from the gravel, and handed it to me. “Here. I made this for you.” She smiled and I took it, saying, “WOW! You made this for ME?!” She nodded. “Yup.”

(I still have this rock.)

I often think about this moment—not because it might seem weird to other people, but because it’s just a super sweet and simple memory I have. One that made me happy at the time and one that makes me happy to think about.

Now, when I was talking to—I mean, thinking, I asked myself, “Why do I constantly think about this moment or other small memories like that?”

And I realized it’s because the small things make me happy. I love the little things because they make more memories.

I’m someone who, if you throw me a huge surprise birthday party with every single friend I’ve ever had, will be so grateful and have a blast. But if you hand me a rock and say, “I made this for you,” I’ll be even more grateful and just cherish that small moment.

Almost any memory that I think about repeatedly was a small action or moment created by somebody.

This is not to say that the bigger things don’t mean as much. They are just as special, but if you want to make my day, you can do something as easy as bringing me cupcakes or a rock. You don’t need to throw a huge party, introduce me to my favorite singer, or take me to a concert (although I will gladly go with you).

A few weeks ago I made a post about the small things that bring me joy. (You can read that here.) The things on that list bring me joy, but more often than not, the things that bring me the most joy are things that people do without making it a big deal.

For instance: I was talking to a friend about music and he said, “Oh yeah, you listen to NF. I remember you saying that on the plane.”

I remembered our plane conversation. But the fact that he remembered it made my day. Our conversation had been important enough for him to bring it up—thus earning some good-friend points.

You can easily make someone’s day by remembering something they said and addressing it. Maybe your friend said flowers bring them joy—go find them some flowers, tell them you thought of them when you saw the flowers. Maybe they love a certain singer—when you’re in the car, play that singer. You never know how those simple actions might impact them positively!

So I conclude this post with a question: what’s something simple you can do for a friend that might make their day?

And what’s something simple that’s made your day? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to see your answers!
~Willow <3

‘Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.’
1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV