The Little Things
Josiah Knapp
2023-2024 Idaho FFA State Reporter
For the last ten months, my teammates and I have had the great pleasure of wearing our association jackets and serving each of the roughly 6,500 Idaho FFA members. For almost a year now, we have been able to celebrate with each other through every success and embrace every hardship. It has been an absolute privilege, and I will be eternally grateful for every lesson this year taught me.
Sometimes those lessons hit when you least expect them. I will be the first to admit that being a part of the FFA has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. FFA has brought me some of the closest friends, taken me to some of the coolest places, and shown me some of the kindest people, but sometimes it is very easy to get caught up in all of the hubbub and lose sight of gratitude. This happened to me this fall. In the middle of the chapter visit season, I was a bit overwhelmed, and unfortunately, I had begun to look at my opportunity to serve others as a chore. Maybe it was the fact that I was struggling with the college/state office balance, but whatever it was, I was choosing not to be grateful.
Eventually, the last week of chapter visits came, and I was to visit the South Upper Snake River District with my teammate, Hallye. I regret to say that I was not looking forward to that week. It meant another week of staying in a different home each night, staying up late, and waking up early each morning to drive to the next school. On our first day, we made our way to Aberdeen, we quickly dove into our prepared workshops, and the members there welcomed us with such excitement that it was almost contagious. Throughout the day, we spent time with students like Will, Shelby, and Lexi, who showed us their passion and why they cared about FFA. This helped to remind me why we serve, but still, for some reason, I wasn’t grateful.
Later that week, after some encouragement from the previous days of chapter visits, we stayed the night in Mackay, at Gabriel’s house. Gabriel was a district officer, so I met him in July at the District Officer Training. We spent the night with Gabriel, having a wonderful conversation about everything from his goals after high school to his favorite game on the Wii. We had a blast that night playing games, conversing, and taking the time to invest in each other. It was at that moment that something magical happened. Gabriel reminded me of the importance of being grateful and soaking up all the little moments without realizing it. You see, the little moments can carry the power to brighten our day if we are just willing to slow down long enough to notice them. Gabriel’s kindness and willingness to be present in that moment opened my eyes to all the opportunities I had to experience the little moments with those around me. It was then that my perspective was changed, and I was reminded of the verse in Proverbs that speaks of the power of joy
“A Cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.”
After Gabriel helped me realize the magic of little moments, my perspective on the whole week changed. Chapter visits weren’t a chore anymore, but rather an opportunity to invest in others. I also began reaching out to those around me and investing in those little moments. I called my parents, let my teammates know I was grateful for them and grabbed dinner with a friend. These are all opportunities we have to make a choice. A choice to be grateful, or a choice to dwell on the hardship. Idaho FFA thank you for showing me the value of being grateful for the little things!
