I have a friend who writes to me from time to time. He has lived a long life and gone through
many hardships and struggles. Now he is dealing with health issues that have left him tired and
depressed. He ended his last letter to me with this question: “Does anything we do in this life
really make a difference?”
When I read those words my mind suddenly flashed back to last summer. My youngest son
had accidentally broken a window in our house and I had taken it to the only place I knew that
replaced window panes. While the guy worked on getting the glass cut I walked across the
street to a store for a snack. I walked back and stopped at the corner to check for traffic.
Suddenly, I noticed a teenage boy walking with his head looking down at his cell phone. He was
texting someone and heading right into the street. I reached out as he passed me, grabbed his
arm, and pulled him back just as a car zoomed by us. He looked so shocked to see what had
happened. He apologized and humbly thanked me. I smiled back and gently reminded him to
keep his feet from walking while his thumbs were typing.
I didn’t give that moment a second thought until I read my friend’s letter. Then it occurred
to me that if I hadn’t reacted in that moment a lifetime of love might have been lost. I quickly
wrote back to my friend and shared the story with him. Then I wrote this: “Everything we do
in this life makes a difference. Every back we pat, every act of kindness we preform, every
encouraging word we say, and every listening ear we lend makes a profound impact in the lives
of others. We are all far more powerful than we realize.”
God loves us all so much and God gives us this glorious life to live and to love. Use yours
to make a difference today!
