Small Potatoes

In the grand scheme of things, insignificant (user-defined) moments occur frequently.  In our current bubble of time, we now have an increased opportunity to pay closer attention to these seemingly unimportant experiences.  Minutia noticed can provide staggering gifts if we take time to reflect and share.

Supplies were ordered online and collected - the ‘new normal’ of grocery shopping.

I am forced to purchase Russet potatoes one or two at a time.  If I was going to buy a 5-pound bag, I’d have to plant most of them.  It’s been a few weeks and I was in the mood for a baked potato with cheese, real butter, and sour cream with chives.  My shopping list included two.

Because, of course, "you get what you get", I let the clerk load my car and drove home with anticipation.  As it turns out, everything was there this week. Everything! Well, there were 2 substitutions, but come on - Everything!

Even though a successful gathering of wants had occurred, there was one “little” problem; that Russet potato.  Barely larger than my finger, I was at-first stupefied.  Then I wondered, just WHAT is a guy supposed to do with THAT?  Then I got plain silly.

But there’s another side to this story.

A friend celebrated a birthday on the day of my 'is-this-really-a-potato' adventure.  We hadn’t talked in quite a while but I called to catch up rather than sending the typical e-card.

In just a few moments, I hear that her life is a mess.  She and her husband have struggled for several years through layoffs and health issues unrelated to the current crisis.  When accepting employment, they’ve had to move cross-country twice only to be forced into the job market again and again.  They are now in serious financial distress and surgery is looking imminent.

Happy Birthday, right?

When she disconnected, I sent this picture as, during the call, we talked about this potato. A few minutes later, she responded.  Her exact words, “LMAO.  That’s the best laugh I’ve had in three months, I swear.”

It wasn’t just the picture, of course.  It was the conversation. You might imagine how one hysterical thought cascaded upon others.  We said things like, “The size of a finger?  Do you think your shopper was being intentional?” Is this a sign of the times?  Could Scott Tissues be thinking of making rolls of toilet-paper like that?”  Feel free to take this in any direction you might choose! I quite literally cannot stop laughing – even today.

Small potatoes shared brightened someone's day - their birthday, no less.  I admit it was accidental in that the conversation went in that direction on its own. But the little things in life matter greatly.



Please, let us pay attention to the small potatoes of life.  Let us be blessedly surprised when it turns out that insignificance becomes monumental in our lives and in the lives of those we touch.

John 6:9
Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?

I prepared my potato for dinner because that’s just what you do, right?  I did, however, believe it prudent to make a salad.