The Small Are The Mighty
It’s been said that history is written by the pens of the victors. In school, most of us learned about the movers, shakers, and winners who did Big Things and changed the world. In recent years, I’ve discovered lots of inspiration in the stories of those who may not be named in a high school history text, but were change-makers just outside the spotlight. Author Sharon McMahon told a few of those stories in her bestselling book The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, From the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement.
McMahon introduces readers in a conversational, relatable way to people you’ve probably never heard of like Clara Brown, Inez Milholland, Julius Rosenwald, Maria de Lopez, and Claudette Colvin. The Small and the Mighty brought me face to face with some new heroes, including pioneering educator and woman of deep faith, Virginia Randolph (pictured above). She taught children for nearly 60 years, and developed curriculum, helped build schools, trained other educators, and provided housing and care for students who would otherwise not be able to attend classes. Randolph never married, but her single-minded commitment to both teaching and mentoring influenced the lives of thousands of Black students throughout the South. Randolph didn’t have a master plan. She simply kept doing the next right thing that needed doing in her community.
Many of us heard when we were younger that we were called to do Big Things for God. Our fame-intoxicated Christian subculture often shaped our understanding of what those Big Things were supposed to look like. Those of us in our Sage years may now be able to put that hubris-shaped call in some healthy perspective. We each have the ability to influence others via our wisdom, honesty, and desire to live faithful lives. It may be tempting to shrug off what we have to offer as nothing of great consequence. But if you’ve ever had a pebble stuck in your shoe, you know that even very small things can matter a great deal.
In this month’s Sage Forum, contributor Judy Allen offers some wise thoughts about stewarding our influence right where we are. Our culture is not waiting for you and I to come up with a master plan or grand strategy to change the world. But those around us desperately need each one of us us to show up for them and do the next right thing – and the one after that – to the glory of God.
With gratitude for each one of you,
Michelle Van Loon for the Sage Forum Team
Wanted: Everyday Heroes
by Judy Allen
Heroes and mentors inspire us, they shake us out of ourselves to imagine what we could do for others. We see prominent public figures, athletes, musicians, writers, thinkers, and pastors as heroes, for they are examples of what we could do and who we might become.
Stories of heroism encourage us and fill us with big, world-changing, lifesaving, thoughts, but most of us rarely, if ever, save a life or change the world. But maybe we would like to improve the life of a family member or modify the culture in our neighborhood, church or community.
We influence and inspire each other every day by living authentic godly lives.
I’m writing this article in February, which is Black History Month, and you’re reading it in March, Women’s History Month. The following story is evidence of a Black actress who probably did not think of herself as a hero or mentor, but she had an outsized influence on Black women in the 1960s.
Nichelle Nichols, who was playing Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, “a groundbreaking role. An African-American woman fourth in command on a spaceship in the 23rd century....an officer, a leader.[1]”
Near the end of the first season, Nichols submitted her resignation and planned to seek success on Broadway, but producer Gene Roddenberry convinced her to take the weekend and think about it.
As it happened, she attended a NAACP fundraiser that weekend and was stunned to meet a fan of Star Trek, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She described her conversation with Dr. King in an NPR interview as follows. “I think I said something like, Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you. He said, no, no, no. No, you don't understand. We don't need you…to march. You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for.”[2]
She decided not to resign.
Nichols described meeting Whoopi Goldberg who told her that “when Star Trek came on she was nine years old and she said she turned the TV on and saw me and ran through the house screaming: Come quick, come quick. Theres a black lady on TV and she ain't no maid.”[3]
We picture a mentor as a wise and godly woman with excellent interpersonal skills meeting with someone every week or two to encourage and gently correct them, but Nichols was a mentor to many black children and adults who watched Star Trek and began to realize that they too could do what had been impossible not too long before.
There are thousands of stories like hers, of women who were just living their lives, doing their jobs, not officially mentoring anyone but having an influence on everyone they encountered. The mature woman at church who took an interest in me when I was a much younger Christian, the friends who showed me how to work hard and laugh out loud, the Bible study leaders of all ages who vulnerably described what a text meant to them, writers, some of whom I know and others I’ve never met, teachers, and others who have come into my life and many times have gone, made an impact.
The theme for Women’s History Month in 2025 is Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations. It is appropriate for sages to consider this theme and to ask ourselves how we can educate and inspire generations of women.
My husband and I each mentor a child at a local elementary school through Kids Hope USA. The training we undertook emphasized the importance of regularly showing up. Being a dependable adult in their lives is what is most important, they say.
So, we spend an hour a week getting to know these kids, playing games with them, eating lunch together, making Play-Doh sandwiches, carrots and spaghetti, and I trust that over time we will influence them positively.
Mentoring can be planned or spontaneous, organized or random, it can happen with someone close to you or someone you hardly know, but we gravitate towards people who live a life that we would like to emulate.
There are many heroes who have mentored others without knowing it. People are watching how we live, and in this era of selfies and self-appointed influencers it’s important to attempt to live a life worth following. We can only do that by abiding in Jesus and trusting the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit through us. We may not know who we have influenced, mentored, or to whom we have been a hero, but God knows. Ultimately, that’s all that matters.
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
[1] NPR, Accessed on 2/4/25, Star Trek's Uhura Reflects On MLK Encounter : NPR
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
Who been an everyday hero or mentor to you? You don’t need to use their names, but we’d love to hear about why you think of them in this way. .
It’s been a while…
…since we introduced our team. If you’re looking for a speaker for an event in your church or community, or a great book, podcast, or newsletter that draws from wisdom gained in the trenches of everyday life, each of these faithful women have something of lasting value to offer:
Judy Allen: Her Reimagining Retirement newsletter offers insight into the spiritual and social dimensions of retirement.
Rachel Campbell: After completing a seminary degree in midlife, our UK-based correspondent is a thoughtful, engaging Bible teacher from whom you’ll want to learn.
Carole Duff: Carole is the author of a powerful memoir about generational trauma, grief, and healing, and a writer with a focus on the “third third” of life.
Sharla Fritz: Multiply-published devotional author and speaker Sharla Fritz has a new Bible study set to release in May entitled Divine Directions: How God Guides Your Path.
Dorothy Greco: Dorothy has written two well-regarded titles on marriage, and has a book releasing later this year on the very timely topic of misogyny.
Pamela Nichols: Podcaster, author, life coach, and editor Pamela Nichols brings her grounded, mature insights to topics near and dear to her heart: faith, healing, loss, and hope.
Michelle Van Loon: Author of eight books including Downsizing: Letting Go of Evangelicalism’s Nonessentials which is slated for release in August, Michelle writes and speaks about spiritual formation in the second half of life.
May God give you eyes to see the next right thing to do in your world,
and the will to do it, even when it is scary, inconvenient, or uncomfortable,
to his glory.
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