Have you ever felt like what you do isn’t all that significant?

Have you ever been in the middle of doing something and thought, “does it even matter that I do this?”

Have you ever just thought of someone you loved and wondered how your actions might impact his or her life?

If you have answered yes, then you have thought about “your little ripple”.

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“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

-Saint “Mother” Teresa

I love this quote by Mother Teresa.  I can picture throwing rocks in the creek growing up. Such a simple activity that many of us seemed unable to resist.

It’s easy to picture and there is just something about visualizing water that is peaceful.

There are many times when I have done something and thought,

“this is good, this will help someone.”

Those were times I was totally aware and consciously making a “ripple”.

But the other day, my youngest sister posted something on Facebook that got me thinking of how often we make ripples, even when we are not aware of it.

Each and every one of us makes a little ripple simply by being.

My sister’s words reminded me of this truth.

My son just turned 5.  He doesn’t think about how his actions are impacting the lives of others.  He thinks about how he loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch, watching tv, getting visits by family members and playing with his mom and dad.  He loves people.  He truly loves them in a way I imagine God loves us.  He sees the beauty and awesomeness in everyone who takes time to know him. He doesn’t think about their weaknesses. He just thinks about whether or not you will let him play with your cell phone.

Something about his innocence or him being him impacted my sister in a big way.

I may or may not hear from her exactly how.

But ironically, when I was her age, she was the little 4-year-old whose simple existence helped me steer thoughts of suicide away.

I remember thinking . . . “if I went through with it, how would that act impact her?”

I knew that act would make a ripple; and it was her I was most worried about in my depression.  I was able to get out of my self-pity by thinking of her.  Because she existed, those thoughts didn’t linger long.

Our existence creates a ripple.  Sometimes we are very aware of our ripple.  Other times, we may never know how our little ripple effected the life of another.

Sometimes, we tend to think our actions are so small, mundane or unimportant that they don’t matter.

My sister Veronica really got me thinking about the ripples we make when we are not trying to make them.

And not just when we are cute little 4-year-olds.

Our little ripple continues to travel and grows in size.

Sure, there are times we think about our ripple.

When we make a donation, go on a mission trip, help an old lady walk across the street, buy the next person in line his or her coffee, do our job with diligence, follow traffic laws . . . the list could go on and on.

But even in the mundane, our little ripple is so important in God’s plan.

Every choice we make matters.

Every act done, whether it is done out of obedience to God’s will, love of neighbor, or if it is done out of hatred or apathy – matters.

When I reluctantly embraced the talent God gave me in high school, I thought it was useless.  I envied the people who had talents that clearly helped others.  My silly talent of being able to run long distances, in my mind, didn’t help anyone.  Years later, I learned how wrong I was.  Although my younger brother wasn’t there with me when I was running those hills in college . . . he had been watching me from afar, and it impacted him in a big way. ( I wrote more about this here:  My Stupid Talent Was a Great Blessing)

When a writer or blogger feels like they are talking and no one is listening . . . believe me, someone is listening.  People are listening.  Don’t believe me?  Ask Ginny over at Not So Formulaic . . .

When we live our faith in a way that helps us make major decisions, co-workers and neighbors are watching.

The same is true for when we hold grudges, or treat people the way we think they deserve to be treated, rather than acting out of love; we are still making that ripple.

The student who chooses not to cheat, works hard in class and goes home and does his or her homework with effort on a consistent basis, is creating a ripple and making an impact.

The athlete who is always complaining at practice is also making an impact.

The employee who goes above and beyond his duty at work and the worker who does the bare minimum, both of those acts are impacted others whether we see it or not.

I’m feeling compelled to remind you . . .

You are significant!

Next time you are in the middle of doing something and the question of whether or not it even matters pops in your head – the answer is YES!  It totally matters!

All of us our impacting the world and people around us!

Just because someone else might be making a big splash, that doesn’t mean their ripple is more important than yours.

One person’s ripple is the same size as another’s.

Is there a person in your life that made an impression on you?  Did someone else’s ripple effect you in a positive way?  I’d love to hear about it!  Please share!

Has someone told you how your ripple impacted them?  I’d love to hear that too!

What will your ripple look like today?

The post Our Little Ripple appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

A powerful picture of a crowd during the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia was shared on social media a little over a year ago.  The photo captured a group of people lined up on the sidewalk, anxious to see Pope Francis pass by and wave to them.  All of them were holding their phones… except one elderly woman.  The expression on the old woman’s face clearly demonstrated that she was enjoying the moment and fully present in it.

I remember my sister, a “millennial”, telling me to put my phone down that same weekend.

I think that no matter how old we are,

we all know we are looking down at a device to often.

We know we need to look up at each other.

We know we need to be kind to one another.

We all want love to win in our personal life, in our nation and in our world.

But, have we prayed about it as much as we talked about it?

Does anyone else think it might be a good idea to look up even more?

One of our strengths as Americans is how much we encourage kindness toward others. Another strength we have is how much we value education.

It is not uncommon for parents to refer to a book or read an article in order to help them love their children.

We know that it is perfectly okay to look at and refer to a reliable source in order to better ourselves.

And most of us believe:

God is love.

1 John 4:8

There is no greater source to go to than God when we seek to love one another.

No matter how we identify ourselves – as a Catholic or agnostic, as a Jew or Protestant, as a Muslim or an atheist – we can certainly meditate upon the meaning of love and the calling that each of us has to be an instrument of peace.

Don’t believe in God?  Meditation is proven to lower stress and increase good health.  Go to a church while some old ladies are praying the Rosary and sit quietly.  Listen to the meditation.  I guarantee you will find rest. You might also find that your blood pressure is lower.

Are you a believer?  Great!  Pray more.  Please, I beg of you!  There is not one person in this world that could use less prayers.  Even Pope Francis asks us all to pray for him!

Let us truly love one another. Let us truly embrace our freedom to pray. Let us ask the Holy Spirit for more guidance before we engage in a debate about politics or express our opinion about the media.

Let us remind ourselves that:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 4-8

It seems that many of us are often upset by what we see on the news or on Facebook or Twitter. There is A LOT of information out there that is upsetting.  Let us bring ourselves to the one source of peace that will renew, energize and calm us . . .

Our Creator

Not sure the words to pray?  Sit in silence and ask the Lord to move your heart.

Want some words to pray?  Here is just one prayer that might help . . .

And a longer version of the same prayer:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Help me to be patient and kind.

Help my family to not envy or boast.

Help my community to honor all members and to not be self-seeking.

Help our leaders to be slow to anger and not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth.

Help me to keep no record of wrongs, but to always ask –

what can I peacefully do at this moment?

Lord Jesus, Enable and inspire all Americans to always protect, trust, hope and persevere.

Open the hearts of all Americans to truly love You Lord;

and compassionately love our neighbors.

Please Lord, give all of us a mind to know you,

a heart to seek you, 

wisdom to find you,

and conduct pleasing to you

Amen.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Saint Katharine Drexel, pray for us!

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

I am not suggesting that we do not speak up for those that need our voice.

I am suggesting we seek guidance from the Lord before we do so, and seek that guidance frequently.

Let’s make sure we can answer the following question with a confident, “YES!”

Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked about it?

Prayer causes miracles.

Who doesn’t love witnessing a miracle?

Dear America,

Please look up at each other,

and more often than that,

look up towards heaven . . . and pray.

May God Bless America

Interested in why asked Saint Katharine Drexel to pray for us?  Read this post Hear, Listen, Understand: St. Katharine Drexel’s Prayer for America

The post Dear America, Please Look Up appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.