Ripples

Years ago, I bought a box of sympathy cards to have on hand to send to people when they had experienced the loss of a loved one. One of the cards had a quote from Roy Lessin that has stuck with me. Recently, that quote has come to mind. I would like to share it with you, my reading friends, because it speaks deep  into our souls.


"When a stone is dropped into a lake it quickly disappears from sight, but its impact leaves behind a series of RIPPLES that broaden and reach across the water. In the same way, the impact of one life lived for Christ will leave behind an influence FOR GOOD that will reach the lives of many others. "

Summer is just around the corner. My husband and I love to sit on the dock at sunset and watch the fish jump in the lake. The water is like glass, then the jump, and the widening circle of ripples appear. It is a beautiful picture of how the joys and sorrows in our lives can have a  rippling effect on a watching world. Life's storms come. Ripples appear disrupting our calm and glassy lake like world. What are we to do?

A number of years ago, at a crisis point in our own lives, we received some very sage advice from a godly man who understood ripple effect under the weight of trial. He gently encouraged us, that even though we were deep into the crisis, with an unmeasured weight of despair overtaking us, God had a great purpose that we could not see just yet. We were momentarily blinded by grief and sorrow. He talked about the rippling effect this trial would have, not only in our lives, but in those around us who were watching. He was right.

As the years have passed we have begun to see the inner circles of the ripple effect this trial has brought into our lives. We have had the opportunity to share the gospel in ways we never would have thought. We have been able to comfort those who are going through similar trials in ways we never would have dreamed. God has impressed upon our hearts that suffering is a calling. He has been faithful as we have navigated through some very rough waters. We understand more clearly that wherever sorrow shows up, joy is present. We trust in very real and tangible ways what the psalmist of Psalm 84 concluded:

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.

 O Lord of hosts,
     blessed is the one who trusts in you!"