What Can I Do?

There are times when you are bombarded with all of the bad things in the world. It is difficult to turn on the TV, open a webpage or social media app without hearing about another tragedy. It can make you feel downtrodden and helpless.

What can I do in this crazy world to make a difference? If you listen to the politicians, they will tell you the answer is in the ballot box. If you listen to the fundraisers, they will tell you that the answer is in your checking account. If you listen to the naysayers, they will tell you not to bother because it doesn't matter. 

But what if you don't trust the politicians? What if your checking account is too low to help? What if you refuse to believe the naysayers? 

There has to be another option. I pondered this thought when we found this poem during our family read-aloud. It is a poem by M. Bentham-Edwards:

A Child's Prayer from The Book of Virtues by William Bennett

God make my life a little light,

Within the world to glow;

A tiny flame that burneth bright

Wherever I may go.

God make my life a little flower,

That giveth joy to all,

Content to bloom in native bower,

Although its place be small.

God make my life a little song,

That comforteth the sad;

That helpeth others to be strong,

And makes the singer glad.

God make my life a little staff,

Whereon the weak may rest,

That so what health and strength I have

May serve my neighbors best.

I do not know the context nor history surrounding this poem, but it didn't stop me from developing my own conclusions.

My actions do not have to be famous to be impactful. My actions do not have to be funded with deep pockets, although I am sure that it wouldn't hurt. 

My actions can be simple. They can start with the things that I can control, and that is myself. I can choose to replace the negative influences in my life with more positive ones. I can choose to create a better home for my family. I can choose to improve my understanding of a topic so as to better understand my fellow human. I can choose to make an effort to comfort or help someone.  

When I take the responsibility to make the choice to do something, I may not even know if it was noticed. The words that I used may be overlooked and ignored. The "light", "flower", "song' or "staff" that I try to be may seem irrelevant in our busy, drama-filled environment. The knowledge of effort gone unnoticed is very humbling and can be paralyzing. It may make us wonder if the effort was even worth the time. I think that is the point. We should be humbled in our actions so that we can step out of the way for God to turn those actions into something greater. 

What if the small things are really the important things? What if we weren't asked to fix everything? What if we were only supposed to start a ripple effect in our small corner of the world? What if those ripple effects joined together into a massive wave of transformation that created a world that is beyond our imagination? 

I doubt if a smile given to a stranger really has a huge impact. I don't know if my teen appreciates the hug that I forced him to endure. I wonder if my toddler will even remember the multitude of times that we read the same book together. What if the answer to all of these scenarios is "no"? Then nothing has changed. But what if the answer is "yes"? 

This article may sound naive and simplistic. In many ways it is. What if we are meant to play a part and not be the entire thing? That is a huge relief to know that by simply doing some little things every day, we can make a better impact on the world than planning (or complaining) and not really doing anything at all.