We’re told to dream big. To push harder. Aim higher. Reach for the stars. To be somebody . . . oh, sure, be you … but make certain you are this a-ma-zing, people-are-gonna-stand-up-and-notice-you version of you.
Change the world.
Or don’t.
Or maybe it’s a matter of redefining the word “world.”
There’s a great big world out there — and technology allows our information-reach to exceed our mental-grasp nowadays. We can wake up in the morning and, within a matter of minutes, know what’s happening in our town and in multiple foreign countries around the world.
But the world can also be defined as your sphere of influence — the people you know and interact with on a regular basis. So maybe what you do and say doesn’t grab the attention of the great big world out there, but it can certainly change someone’s life in your world.
My friend Wise Guy? You’ve heard me talk about him before. He’s told me time and time again that he’s not going to write a book. Nope, not ever. Now there are books out there that have changed the world. (Read the Bible lately?) Wise Guy may never write a book or do anything else that changes the great big world out there. But he’s spent hours and hours and hours pouring truth into people’s lives. The kind of truth that brings healing … that restores hope … that, in a very real way, rights wrongs.
And living his life that way? That’s important.
In Your Words: When has some seemingly unimportant thing someone has said or done — the kind of thing that won’t show up in the nightly news of earn international acclaim — changed your life?
In Others' Words: Don't Change the World https://wp.me/p63waO-2AQ #quotes #perspective Click To Tweet 'Things don't have to change the world to be important.' quote by Steve Jobs https://wp.me/p63waO-2AQ #change #perspective Click To Tweet
Comments 8
There is the tale of a wee lad who walked upon a beach after a storm, and threw the starfish that had been stranded on the sand back into the sea.
His father caught up with him, and said, “Son, ye canna save them all.”
His bairn gave it a thought, holding a starfish. And then, throwing that starfish back into the waters of its life, said, “Aye, Da, but I saved that one.”
Amen!
Author
I’ve always loved that story, Andrew, because it’s so true. And it’s so true. You never know the far-reaching influence of the one you save.
When I was 7, a pleasant babysitter came who I don’t recall being with us any other time. She arrived carrying a typewriter to type out her college application after we went to sleep. She let me sit at her typewriter and type. I loved the possibilities. I learned two new words that night and loved both, college and typewriter. Both have been and are significant in my life. That chance occasion and our discussion that night triggered interests that established major directions for my life, and I am very thankful!
Author
Dee:
What a wonderful story of a life-changing moment. I love this!
Beth, I’ve seen this truth so many, many times over the last thirteen-plus years as a tutor. Every time that little light bulb comes on in a child’s mind and they get what I’m explaining… every time one of them comes in and tells me they accepted Jesus as their Savior… every time their confidence climbs upward, whether by inches or miles… all those little moments add up to be amazing world-changing events, because they’ve impacted not only those children’s futures but also the future of the communities in which they currently and will eventually live in. The reach God has through the ministries we are gifted is far and very wide.
Blessings,
Andrea
Author
Oh, Andrea, what you shared made me smile! Letting children know that there always second chances … and that God offers them the best of all second chance … Love this!
Beth, thank you for your sweet words.