Thoughts On A Mountain Stream

Thoughts On A Mountain Stream	Next Chapter: Thoughts On Violent Death
One warm summer day, while sitting on a rock next to a rushing, bubbling mountain stream, I happened to consider a single drop of water as it moved downstream. Occasionally during its trip to the ocean my drop of water touches a rock or a tree root or a fish or a bear catching fish or another animal drinking water or a child playing in the water. Sometimes my drop of water moves quite swiftly, sometimes it moves dreamily and sometimes it is caught in a side pool where it may grow stagnant and, perhaps, dry up completely. Our lives are often like my drop of water. We often think we are too small to have any lasting effect on the world. Yet my drop of water, working together with all the other drops of water, grinds down huge boulders into fine sand or digs ditches a mile deep like the Grand Canyon. I especially like to think about the effect my drop of water has on a child playing in the water and the resulting fun. Does my drop of water know how it affected everything it touched? I don’t think so; and neither do we know how we affect everyone we touch. But just because we do not how we have affected someone does not mean we did not have an effect, no matter how small, on everyone we touched. Daily we leave a trail of "touches" behind us as we go about our business — perhaps a smile given and maybe returned, perhaps a disapproving frown, perhaps a laugh or a twinkle in our eye, perhaps a tear. Once while in the hospital being terribly sick to my stomach, an unnamed nurse quietly handed me a clean, warm, damp washcloth to wipe my face. How wonderful it felt. I have never forgotten that simple act of kindness even though it was over 40 years ago. Her unspoken kindness has inspired me to daily try to do simple acts of kindness for others. We all want to leave our mark on the world before we leave it — something people will have to favorably remember us. Yet, after considering my single drop of water in a mountain stream I realize I have already touched thousands of lives — some for good, some for bad. My goal now is to make sure that every touch—in the hours, days, weeks or years I have left — is for good. How many lives will you touch today? Will your touches be for good?
"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me. ...when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" (Matthew 25:35-36, 40 (NLT)
Lord, help me to not become so focused on my goals and my dreams and my needs that I am not aware of those around me and their goals, their dreams and their needs. Make me always willing to share with others a smile, a laugh, a listening ear, a sympathetic heart or an encouraging word. Amen.
Questions for consideration... Let me make a list of all the lives I may have already touched yesterday and today. How many people are on my list? Now put a plus sign (+) next to each person on my list if the touch was for good, a minus sign (–) if the touch was bad or a zero (0) if the touch was neutral. How many of the people on my list did I mark with a plus sign? What about these people I marked with a plus? Is there anything they have in common? Can I see a pattern? What about the people on my list I didn’t mark with a plus? What do they have in common? Is there a pattern there?