I once wrote a little book.
I wrote it, and I meant well.
One day a man came to me with a story.
He had gotten the book and had read it over and over again, and as a consequence had reached an odd decision.
He had an autistic daughter, and he realized that he had treated her improperly.
So he took her out of the institution where he had put her, and brought her back home, even though there was no likelihood for him to create any kind of contact with her.
He claimed that I taught him what to do.
And there he was, with his daughter who was speaking, communicating and functioning—and he came to me to say thank you.
I, of course, had no idea that I had done that.
I am telling this story only for one purpose: to show how great is the reward.
A person does a small thing and its fruits, and the fruits of those fruits, are unimaginable.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From "The Time is Short and the Work is Great" in On Being Free by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz