I sense a common theme among people I meet—one that resonates strongly within my own soul. We all have a deep desire to have our lives matter, and especially to have our life make a difference in the life of another person. It’s possible that you can’t experience this any more deeply, or regularly, than within the walls of your own home! Our spouse wants to know that they are valuable to us, our kids want to know that they are loved and that what they are feeling really matters. If given the chance to think about it, we want all that for ourselves, too! Wouldn’t you agree?
But all too often we get caught up in doing what has to get done, squashing the conflicts that arise, and putting out the fires of daily life. So how can we live with intentionality, realizing that everything we does has an impact on the people around us? I believe the first step is realizing this truth: What you do and say matters more than you realize.
Reading through Max Lucado’s “You Changed My Life” is so inspiring—it’s filled with story after story of people doing little things that are making a big difference. Max says, “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
One man’s wife made a difference in her husband’s life…and has since affected the rest of our lives, as well. Max tells the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne. One day he came home heartbroken. He’s just been fired from his job in the custom house. His wife, rather than responding with anxiety, surprised him with joy.
“Now you can write your book!” she replied.
He wasn’t so positive. “And what shall we live on while I’m writing it?”
To his amazement she opened a drawer and revealed a wad of money she’d saved out of her housekeeping budget. “I always knew you were a man of genius,” she told him, “I always knew you’d write a msterpiece.”
She believed in her husband. And because she did, he wrote. And because he wrote, every library in America has a copy of “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Who can you find to believe in today? How can you help someone else live out the passion in their heart—perhaps something they thought they had to file away under “Probably Not Gonna Happen?” Today’s your chance to begin.
You can change someone’s life.
If you’d like to read more inspiring stories about people’s actions changing the lives of others, click here to pick up your own copy of “You Changed My Life” – or give it as a gift to someone who has affected yours.
With Blessings On Your Journey,
Mark
Love this!!!! Gonna have to pick up the book to read for my blog now!!! Yay!!!!