Ripples
While in prayer, asking the Lord what He would have me write about for this month’s Heartstrong Blog Post, I immediately saw a picture of a rock being thrown into water and ripples being generated out from the place of the rock’s impact. This image came along with the thought that what we say matters. Even a smile or one word can be the lift someone needs.
When we stay connected to our God of hope, we give others hope; it overflows from us. It often isn’t even a conscious decision on our part. It just flows out of us when we are connected to the vine of life. Giving off the smallest bit of light or hope at the right time in the right circumstances can make a big difference. Just as a small rock thrown at the right angle, at the right time, in the right place, can produce many ripples, our seemingly small acts of kindness in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s guidance can send out a tsunami of ripples of light into our dark world. These tiny acts of kindness may seem too small to matter, but they count.
However, for this process to work as effectively as possible, we need to stay connected to God, our source of hope, light, and love. He will line up the circumstances and the people for our lives to flow into. Unfortunately, I’m a striver, always striving to do better. Am I doing enough, Lord? Am I doing it right, Lord? Oops, messed up there, Lord. I hear God calling me to be different, saying, “relax, you don’t need to try so hard!”
He’s telling me to abide in Him, and He will direct my steps. He’s coaching me to stop worrying so much, stop analyzing everything, just to live out every day connected to Him and trust that He is guiding me. He will open doors that need opening for me to walk through them and close doors that need closing, so I won’t fall into the craters behind them.