“Do Small Things With Great Love” – Queen Elizabeth

I never met the Queen. But I have seen countless clips of those who did. And so in my tribute for her I highlighted what so many said of her which was that she was humble and always focussed on the person in front of her. She was committed to the importance of those small one to one meetings with ordinary people and great heads of state alike. One person put it this way

“I particularly remember being struck by her levels of compassion, interest, and knowledge about our work – not in a strategic way – but in an empathetic sense.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/09/09/day-met-queen-public-remembers/

The Queen cited that it was Christ’s example that helped her see the value in doing small things with love. And we see in the life of Jesus this exemplified. Jesus did preach to the crowds but he also engaged with people personally and showed great love and interest in their situations. He was as much at home speaking to an outcast woman from Samaria as he was a man of great learning, Nicodemus. Every person he met was equally valuable to him, made in God’s image, and one of those who he had come to seek and save.

This is such a good lesson for us in an age of compassion fatigue, we can learn to slow down and focus on the individuals that are put in our path on a daily basis.

One of the most crucial things is for us to listen and not judge. Resist the urge to tell someone who is struggling to “cheer up” or “be positive”. That is the way of toxic positivity. Instead acknowledge their pain, allow them to feel the way they do, and just show human love and acceptance. Jesus did not tell Mary and Martha to stop crying about their brothers death. In fact he wept himself. If tears are good enough for Jesus they are good enough for you and me.

Krish Kandiah explained on the BBC the way the Queen used her “soft power” in countless personal interactions as our ambassador in chief around the World. The way she treated each leader as a person she valued and each small interaction was inspired according to Kandiah by Jesus own life of service. They program is well worth a listen and he also comments on the “doing small things wirh great love” quote from our late Queen. There are very few in positions of world leadership who live looking out for others like she has. As a result there is nobody alive today who’s death would prompt such an outpouring of grief. With Christian values from a different age, one asks has her sort of leadership died out wifh her? I hope and pray not:

The Queen saw Jesus as the guiding light for her life, not because she emulated his greatness, but because she identified with his life of daily service. Krish Khandia

My friend Krish also explains in this clip that this character of the queen is essentially what so many people who are in the Queue are there to honour as they wait to view her coffin.