Be The Difference

Can you make a difference in someone's life?

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
-Maya Angelou

I find this statement to be quite true, at least for me. Now, I think about this in two different ways. I think about it from my perspective, how people have made me feel and from the perspective of others, how I make them feel.

If I'm being honest, this semester of college has been a roller coaster ride. I've faced a LOT of hardships, but I've also had a lot of good times as well. It's funny. In those difficult times, I often find myself reaching out to others, just asking them how they're doing, or seeing if there is any way I can pray for them. It allows me to momentarily forget what I'm going through and focus on what's going on in the lives of others around me. Just because I'm feeling down, doesn't mean I should stop loving and serving others. So regardless of how I feel, I try to put on a smile and place the needs of others above my own.

Throughout my life I've only had one person call me, one time, to check up on me and see how I was doing. I wasn't doing the greatest, but just talking to him and knowing that he cared, made me feel better. Here's the best part: he prayed for me over the phone! I don't remember what all we talked about, or what exactly was going on, but I still remember the way it made me feel. I was overjoyed to know that someone cared about me. I cried and cried afterwards. Not tears of sorrow, tears of joy and thankfulness.

I like to text people every now and then to see how they're doing. (I did this before that phone call, but it means even more now that I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end) I want people to know that I genuinely care about them and the things that they're going through. I'm not good with words, so my messages can be kind of lengthy sometimes. I'm also not good at interacting with people. I tend to be awkward and can never quite get out what I want to say. But the point is, no matter how it comes out, I hope they feel loved.

It only takes a few minutes to show somebody you care. All around you there are people who are hurting, people who need your love, people who need your encouragement. Let God use your gifts and talents to bless them.

Love as Christ loves you. Don't ever think you can't make a difference. YOU CAN!

God has been working on me a lot lately. He's shown me things in my life that I need to change. But most importantly, through prayer and studying His Word, He has shown me what love really means. Here is a piece of scripture that expresses the importance of loving and caring for one another:

"So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Colossians 3:12-15

Every Book Has a Story

"It's hard to read a book, if you never actually bother to open it." -RJ Horton

It's funny. Everyone around me looks forward to the weekend, to get away from school, from work, from responsibilities. That used to be me. I would always count down the days until the next break from classes. But this year, something's different. Weekends are the hardest part of my week and the saddest. I guess it's because I'm away from everyone I know. I love spending time with people, loving on them, talking with them, just doing nothing, WITH THEM. It's been hard being a commuter this year. I don't see everyone like I used to. It has caused me to look back at many of the people that have come into my life. I've made a lot of friends over the years. And even though I've had some close friends, no one has ever made an effort to really get to know me. I've never had a "best friend." I don't know what that's like. Don't get me wrong, I have some really great friends and I love them very much. They're there for me and they care about me too. But no one has ever been brave enough to tell me, I know you're not okay, when I tell them I am.

I don't get out much. I don't have money to go out to eat with people, or to go places very often. When I am around other people, including my friends, I feel like a third wheel, an extra, someone who's just kind of there. I'm sure part of this is my fault. Anyway, I don't want this post to be a downer, or make anyone feel bad. I'm not looking for pity either. I simply thought that if I feel this way, there are probably others who feel some of the same things. I just want to get you thinking about your interactions with people. Even the smallest things can make the biggest difference. A smile. A hug. A short conversation. The most important thing to remember, is to be intentional.

That book that doesn't get opened very much, still has a story. But, you'll never know what it is unless you open it.

"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for times of adversity." -Proverbs 17:17

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." -1 John 4:7

Waiting

Two minutes waiting behind another customer at the coffee shop? Too long.
Sixty seconds to heat up food in a microwave? Too long.
Fifteen seconds waiting for the traffic light to change? Way too long!
The bottom line is, no one likes to wait, for anything.

My Water Pump (It should all be one piece)

Recently, God has been teaching me patience. Everything in my life was going smoothly. So smoothly in fact, that I was bored. I wished that something would change, that I could get excited about life again. You know that saying; Be careful what you wish for? Yeah, I learned what that means the hard way. For about two weeks now, I have been faced with many challenges, trials of many kinds, if you will. Though God, in the book of James, says: "Count it joy when you face trials of many kinds, knowing that the trying of your faith produces patience". James 1:2-3. Be happy when when your water pump breaks and your truck quits on the way to school? Be happy when your family struggles to pay their bills? Be happy when the first girl you ever had the guts to ask out says no? Be happy when your dream is taken right out of your own two hands?

Yes.

Being happy when things go right is easy. Being happy when things go badly, not so much. However, happiness is a choice. It's my choice. It's your choice.We can choose to let the trials we face get us down in the dumps, to break us, or we can remember that we aren't really in control. God is. God allowed trials into our life for a reason and He didn't call us to understand why. He called us to be still and know that He is God, to trust Him with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding.

Life is tough.Waiting isn't easy. Thankfully, God didn't leave us on our own to deal with the weight of it all. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us, friends to help us, and a hope that never fades.

"I used to ask God to help me.Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me." -Hudson Taylor