Little Ripples, Big Waves
I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon, but I have done some local hiking. Once, we took the boys, and their usual raucous noises echoed back to them from off the mountain side. They stopped, and each called out “Echo” and smiled as the sound found its way back to us. One of them asked how sound worked, so I launched into my best science professor imitation and said that sound vibrates molecules which carry through the air dispersing like waves in the ocean. They’re called sound waves. When the wave hits a flat surface, it bounces off and travels back to you. My son looked at the rock face in the distance and said, “Wow, it goes a long way.”One day, I was driving my car and had an overwhelming desire to pray for an old childhood friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in over twenty years. I sent up a quick prayer, Lord, please be with my friend, and kept driving. The feeling intensified over the next several weeks, but I had no idea what to pray. I had no clue what was going on in his life and no way to contact him. I just knew I needed to pray. For the next few weeks, and anytime he came to mind, I would intercede on his behalf. Then, one day, I had peace. I no longer felt the urgent need to pray specifically for him. I probably won’t know on this side of heaven what spiritual battle was being fought for my friend.Acts of kindness can often be like my prayer. We don’t always get to see how our actions affect someone. Just like we don’t get to see the waves of sound as they’re traveling. If there’s a flat surface, then we get to hear the echo, but otherwise, the sound just continues to radiate outward.
Even though we may not see what difference we make, a small act of kindness can be like dropping a pebble into water and watching the ripples spread outward in all directions. I greet at my church, and I make it a point to try to remember the names of people I meet. It’s not an amazing gesture, not like I pulled someone from a burning building or anything, but I’ve had numerous people tell me that they continued to come to church because I remembered their name. It’s even more amazing when they start bringing their friends and family. It’s that small ripple spreading outward.Love where you are, whether it’s in small or big gestures. Start a ripple. Who knows, when we get to heaven, we may be surprised how far the ripples from our little pebble spreads, and who we get to spend eternity alongside because our ripple reached them.Here's a cute YouTube video of a boy named Zack age three who was confused by his echo at the Grand Canyon:https://youtu.be/fKd3pDzD9TM?t=3m7s