"My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours. Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I,of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories, in all their particularity,as I have long believed and often said, that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally." -Frederick Buechner



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Have you ever really thought about the ripple effect?

"Live simply so others can simply live" that's what a little wall plaque says in my bathroom. I noticed it again yesterday after months of paying no attention.  Then later in the day I read a little article where a story was told about a woman considering a marriage proposal.  She and her friend agreed that she loved the man who proposed. So her friend asked, "what is there to consider?"  She replied, "Well, there are consequences to either decision that will effect the rest of my life and those around me. I'm taking this seriously!"  That got me thinking. Have you ever thought about the ripple effect of even the "daily" things you do?

So many times I'm confronted with a decision and I just make the decision with very little thought. You know, what do I want for breakfast? Should I start laundry before or after doing paperwork? When am I going to exercise?  Truth is each of those decisions although very "daily" and ordinary effect someone else. If I fix a "cooked" breakfast I should at least offer to my husband a hot breakfast but if I just have cereal, he can get his own.  If I don't do laundry until later will he not have clean jeans when he needs them? When or even if I'm going to exercise, now there's something that only effects me, right? Nope, if I don't take care of myself there will be a day of reckoning. And when that day comes it's very likely that I will need someone to take care of me!

Now I'm back to Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified Version)...that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us (taking paths which He prepared ahead of time), that we should walk in them....  Notice the verbage. That we may do, taking paths, not we "have" to, or being "forced to go one way".  We get to choose. Even though the God of all the universe created us AND created a path which He prepared for us, we get to choose whether we walk that path.  And here's the kicker, whatever path we choose it effects those around us.

Have you thought about the ripple effect in your life?
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1 comment:

  1. Amber DJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    You are one smart lady. Your right, I don't put much thought into it, but I should. How are my decisions effecting those around me, not just me. This is one of the reasons I decided to start thereapy.

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