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into hopelessness.
Something super easy for me to do.
All I have to do is open my laptop or phone.
The latest comes pouring out into my eyes, ears, mind and makes its way quickly to my heart, overwhelming it.
Never-ending Covid.
Mass shootings.
Assassinations.
Ukraine.
Soaring inflation.
Human-trafficking.
Even a local murder-suicide of a 70 year-old man and his wife.
On and on and on.
It all feels heavy, dire, and like it needs to be fixed as soon as possible. In fact, this very minute. N-O-W.
I am saturated with all the yuck.
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into all the doubts.
Where do I start?
Who do I help?
What can I possibly do to make a small dent for good in this gut-wrenching broken world?
Would it even make a difference?
In all these gigantic, world-shattering issues, I am just
making my bed
pulling weeds in my garden
helping my budding adults launch into the world
listening to a friend’s latest heartache
going to the grocery store
taking my meds
donating a little time and money to places in need
writing these posts
taking a Sabbath
I’m just one person. One very average, trying-to-hold-my-own-stuff-together person.
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into one of two traps.
Draining what little time and energy I have figuring out how to solve it all, do it all.
Crumpling under the sheer magnitude of all the horror and becoming paralyzed, doing nothing.
So what am I to do?
What’s the wisest, truest, best step for me to take?
I’m left with only this:
Make the world a better place because I am in it.
Bring some “up there, down here” as Jesus taught his friends to pray.
There’s plenty of down-here HARD that needs the up-there HELP.
I am counting on the fact that it doesn’t matter what I choose to invest myself in.
Donating money for clean water for the planet.
Working in my garden for the local "historic garden tour."
Comforting an anxious friend in my home.
It can be for the whole-world, our local community or even just one person.
Me, by my sweet self, can be a powerful force for good.
I’ve done it a thousand times, and so have you, most of it small and seemingly insignificant.
A smile.
A thoughtful gift.
A word of encouragement.
A meal made.
A listening ear.
A dollar given.
A hug.
I cannot do everything.
But I can do something.
And that is lots better than doing nothing.
And even if I don't see it, I trust that
all the tiny, supposedly inconsequential “somethings” of good grow into the huge life stories of hope, change and restoration.
the good beats back the bad one choice at a time, one person at a time.
it’s not insignificant after all. It’s essential.
All I have to do is look at my own life and journey toward healing.
There have been
kind-hearted teachers
friends with a listening ear and a loving heart
mentors who’ve taken me under their wing
children encapsulated with unconditional love
helpful neighbors
thick-or-thin family members
the poor
the rich
democrats
republicans
women
men
the old
the young
people of color
people who look like me
educated
unschooled
you
every single kind of person on this planet
that have given me hope, changed my heart and restored my soul
one precious, simple
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