Tuesday, December 23, 2014

How Do We/You Change the World?

It always excites me to make new friends who have a desire to make a difference in someone else’s life! This last week we have done a couple of special events to bless our friends who are living on the street. I had recently gotten to know a barista at my Starbucks who has teenage children. She wanted to participate in our burrito outreach to our homeless friends. I was truly impressed with her heart of compassion and even more so touched by her husband and kid’s willingness to do something that was definitely a stretch for most.

What especially touched me about my friend was hearing the story of how her husband lost both of his legs over a decade ago to a drunk driver that hit the car he was attempting to move onto his tow truck. It would be so easy to allow this type of tragic accident to cripple you for life physically, emotionally and spiritually. Yet, the moment I met her husband I was overwhelmed with his friendliness and willingness to help. It was exciting to see the look on her kids as they handed out burritos and bags of candy to people who were living at the edge.

Yesterday I finished handing out 70 hams to families in real need. One of my families, a single mom with a young daughter, came over to pick up her ham and gift card. I shared with her how we were going to make burritos on Christmas Eve and take them downtown to our homeless friends. I couldn’t believe how her eyes lit up and asked if it were possible for her to be able to help out with her daughter. I smiled and said of course you and your daughter are welcome to come to my house around 8:30am!

I know with the world seemingly drifting away from what would seem a moral center that simple acts of kindness like smiling at a stranger, paying for the person behind you in the drive through or just doing something totally unexpected at home can impact a person’s day. I applaud Mother Teresa’s heart in helping the poor, one person at a time, to be an inspiration to a world rapped up in the success game where individuals don’t matter. Yet, the reality is that each act of kindness you do today creates a ripple effect that is very difficult to quantify the ongoing result.


I had a call from another friend yesterday who loves to bless many of my friends that have little. She has been blessed to have the means to help in many different ways. What struck me was that her sense of excitement was no different from my single mom who lives on the edge and needs someone like her to help. My prayer in the coming year is that more people can have this sense of excitement that when they give of themselves that the world will change one life at a time.

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