Something Significant
“Something Significant” is episode #625 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written by Kathy Buchanan and Nathan Hoobler, and originally aired on October 27, 2007.
Summary
In the Imagination Station, Trent DeWhite journeys to ancient India, the South Pacific, and New York’s Constitution Island to see stories of people who were used by God.
Plot
Trent walks into Whit's End as Whit is working on a machine for the homeless shelter in Connellsville. Trent informs Whit that though he auditioned very well for the play at his church about the fruits of the spirit, he didn't make it. He goes on to explain that he was asked by the director to be the "seating systemizing manager"--a fancy title for the person who sets up the chairs. His principle reason for being upset is that he wanted to be a part of a production that would change people's lives, believing that "you change lives by playing the fruit of patience" and that setting up chairs, though it allows him to be a part of the show, won't do anything big for God. Whit decides to show him a new program in the Imagination Station that, he thinks, might help.
Trent journeys first to Constitution Island in 1860, where he meets Anna Warner, who runs a Bible study at her house. Trent assumes that she is a person who does a lot of important things, and gets excited when he hears that she writes books, but is disappointed to learn that her sister Susan is much better at it than she is and won't be meeting at the study that night. He then deduces that Whit sent him there to show him that even the little things, such as setting up chairs and making the sandwiches Anna asks him to help her with are important. He promptly stops the program and changes it from "Small Tasks for God" to "Important Tasks for God".
He next lands in India in 1913 to discover a young girl being chased and attacked by a temple guard. Trent tries in vain to help her, but cannot overpower the guard or loosen the chain tying the girl to a post. He calls out for help and is answered by a woman, who tells him that the girl is a temple slave, the guards can treat her however they desire, and he is going about helping her the wrong way. The two go to talk more inconspicuously, where the woman tells him her name is Amy and explains that she is from Ireland, disguising herself as an Indian woman by dying her skin with teabags in order to rescue temple slave girls. Trent and Amy plan the girl's rescue--as soon as the guard unchains the girl for a temple ritual, Trent distracts him by jumping into the temple fountain. The guard runs after him, and Trent begins to climb out of the fountain before the adventure stops.
Trent is then transported to a PT boat in the Solomon Sea in 1943, where the skipper and a sailor explain that the ship is the only American ship patrolling in the middle of a highway for Japanese ships. The boat is suddenly struck by a Japanese destroyer, and the skipper shouts for everyone to swim away from the ship to the nearby island. Though swimming is another component of a list of things he doesn't like, Trent jumps into the water and begins to swim. He finds himself on the island four days after the wreck, where the skipper tells him that there isn't any food and that anyone monitoring them out in the ocean would have given up by that point. Ross then alerts the skipper and Trent to two natives on the beach; the skipper agrees to take a chance and talk to the men. The native men nearly shoot them, but the skipper tells them that they are Americans, to which one of the natives responds that he and his friend are American scouts and introduces himself as Biuku. Upon hearing about the Americans' situation, Biuku and his fellow scout agree to get help from the Americans at a nearby base.
The Imagination Station then transports Trent back to Constitution Island, where he finds that the Bible study ended an hour ago. He wonders aloud why he is back there, and though Anna remarks that she thinks she should be asking him that, she thanks him for giving her a break and explains that she has been writing a song for a book she is writing with her sister Susan that she does not believe has been going very well. Trent asks to read it and finds that he knows the song and asks where, amid lyrics that read "Jesus loves me, this I know" and "Little ones to Him belong/They are weak, but He is strong", was the part than Anna wrote. Bewildered, Anna asks what he means by this, claiming to have just made it up. Trent then realizes--Anna Warner is the woman who wrote the famous childrens' hymn "Jesus Loves Me". He tells her excitedly that her song will one day impact children in churches everywhere; though she considers it a nice thought, Anna casually offers Trent some lemonade as the adventure changes settings back to 1913 in India.
Trent finds Amy, asking what happened to the girl they rescued, and Amy lets Bakula herself that question. Bakula greets Trent and offers him tea, thanking him for helping to save her life. She goes to sit with the other freed girls, and Amy tells her that the girls will teach her a song called "Jesus Loves Me". Trent begins to understand what the point of the adventure is as Amy explains that though she grew up in a Christian family, she finally realized that she wanted to follow where God would lead her as a teenager when she heard the song. Trent, amazed, comments about the impact of the song. Amy corrects him, stating that the song only helped her realize the impact of the love of God.
Trent is then transported back to the island, where he finds the sailors being rescued by the Marines. Ross declares that God was the one who saved them and leads the crew (including the natives, Biuku explaining that a missionary taught it to their village) in a victory song--"Jesus Loves Me", and calls Lieutenant Kennedy to join them. Incredulously, Trent asks the lieutenant for his name, and Kennedy replies that he is indeed John Fitzgerald Kennedy--known to his friends as "Jack". Trent informs Kennedy that he will be President someday. "One mission at a time, sailor," Kennedy laughs, before Trent sees Anna Warner, the girls, Amy, and children all over the world who have been impacted by "Jesus Loves Me" as the familiar song is heard.
Trent emerges, amazed, from the Imagination Station, greatly impacted by what he just saw and thankful that he switched the adventure in order to see it. Whit comments that perhaps the adventure was planned the way it was from the beginning, from which Trent quickly deduces that Whit, knowing what he wanted, would have known that he might change it. Whit explains that the Station was programmed to take Trent on that journey regardless of what he did, and tells Trent that oftentimes, doing the little things for God is more important--He should ultimately recieve the glory, because anything good that happens is directly from God. Trent decides that perhaps he will be the "seating systemizing manager", and Whit asks him for help loading his machine into the truck to take it to the homeless shelter. When Trent agrees, Whit asks him if he really wants to--it's a pretty unimportant job. "You never know," Trent replies. "It might just change the world."
Discussion Questions
- How can people complete small tasks for God today?
Cast
Heard in episode
Mentioned in episode
| Character | Mentioned By |
|---|---|
| Eugene Meltsner | John Whittaker |
Notes
- Trivia
- This episode aired on the main Focus on the Family broadcast on April 21, 2017.
Reviews
Quotes
John Whittaker: I'm just finishing up an invention for Eugene; he's organizing an event at the homeless shelter in Connellsville.
Trent DeWhite: I hate to break it to you, but cash registers have already been invented.
Amy Carmichael: I hail from Ireland, but we mustn't let anyone know that. I'm posing as an Indian woman.
Trent DeWhite: Well, you sure don't look Irish.
Amy Carmichael: I dye my skin with teabags.
Trent DeWhite: I thought I smelled chamomile.
Trent DeWhite: You mean... you wrote this. You wrote "Jesus Loves Me?"
Anna Warner: Well, I haven't really titled it...
Trent DeWhite: Do you know how many people will hear this song?
Anna Warner: What do you mean?
Trent DeWhite: Kids in churches all over the world will sing it and everyone will know it!
Trent DeWhite: Wow. That song had that big of an impact on you?
Amy Carmichael: The love of God had that big of an impact on me. But that song made me realize it.
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