Small Changes, Big Results

Do you believe small changes can make a big difference in our lives?

Several summers ago, I had a job working in a small University Campus office. My duties consisted of filing papers into cabinets and answering a phone that seldom rang. It was in the olden days before voice mail. The days were long and sometimes boring.

There was a guy who worked with me in the office named Larry. Because of the lack of activity, we had a lot of time to talk. I’m not sure how we got on to the topic but, one day we started talking about the skill of tying your shoes. We were discussing the topic because shoe tying was something I was still working on at the age of seventeen. I realize most people are tying their shoes by the age of five. However, due to the fact that I have cerebral palsy, my hands didn’t have the dexterity to tie knots for the longest time.

Larry commented “well Terry, we haven’t got anything else to do until the phone rings, would you like me to teach you how to tie your shoes? I said, “I have been trying to tie my shoes for twelve years without success, but if you want to try, I am willing.”
Larry said; “let me see, how you attempt to tie your shoes now.” So I sat down and tied the base of the knot and then attempted to form two bunny- ear loops and bring them together. But it felt like the laces were working against me and I dropped them in frustration.

Larry made this recommendation, “instead of trying to form two loops and bringing them together, why don’t you just form one loop and wrap the other lace around it to form the knot?” I made this small adjustment, practiced and within an hour, I tied my shoes for the very first time at the age of seventeen. Soon it came time to buy a new pair of shoes and that is when the impact of what Larry had taught me had the biggest impact.

Since I could tie my shoes I no longer had to wear, velcro shoes. The store walls expanded in all directions as I realized how much selection I had to choose from. I realized that Larry had not only helped me to tie my shoes, but also gave me the gift of dignity. I could shop for regular shoes like everyone else.

If your challenge today is feeling that your contributions have been insignificant, think of Larry and take the opportunity to reevaluate the impact that your seemingly small contributions have had. You may have restored someone’s dignity, without even knowing it.

- Terry Harris

Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was two years old, Terry Harris in the opinion of many experts within the medical and education professions, would never walk, talk, read, write or go to a regular school. It was recommended to his parents that he beplaced in an institution. In 1995 Terry graduated from Brock University with a B.A. in English Literature and obtained a degree in marriage and family therapy in 1999 from Tyndale Seminary.