‘You make a difference.’  The words were spoken with gratitude and conviction, catching me off guard but they echoed through my mind for days.  What a sweet acknowledgment from someone about how something I had done had impacted her life in a positive way.  Someone I didn’t know. Someone I hadn’t met before.  The action she was commenting on was not a grand gesture but just something I do in the normal course of my work.  A practice others have felt unnecessary and challenged me about but I have continued due to my beliefs.  And yes, while I believed this action would  ultimately help someone, this was the first time I had proof positive that it had accomplished the intended outcome.  

I don’t know about you dear friend, but so often I wonder if what I am doing will even change anything.  My efforts seem so small compared to others.  I am one person challenging the status quo at times.  A single voice being shouted down by others.  Is it worth the effort?  Is it worth the energy?  Does anyone care?  And yet, those four words, ‘you make a difference’ let me know that what I do matters.  Just as the proverbial pebble being dropped in the water effects so much more than the water it touches, so do we by our actions, our words and our presence.  

Ironically I heard those words at the very time in my life when I needed them. The days had been dark and I wondered if there was a purpose, a reason why I was strolling around a ball that circles a sun in a space so large it was beyond my comprehension.  Did I even matter in the grand scheme of things?  Yes, and the universe was letting me know I mattered.  Letting me know that by sticking by my beliefs and doing what I did as a matter of my everyday actions I had touched someone’s world in a positive way.  Someone I didn’t even know.  And most fascinating to me, the act had come full circle with her kind words on that day.  She made a difference for me with those four words she shared.  

I get it, it is hard to stay the course when the results aren’t visible and you are challenged in your beliefs, but know, deep in your heart, that you matter.  Your actions matter.  Despite what you may perceive, know that you do make a difference everyday in someone’s life, perhaps several someones.  And don’t be afraid to share with another, even a stranger, how they have made a difference in your world.  It may be just the very thing they need to hear.  

Wishing you dear friend you know how much you matter on your heartfelt journey. ~♥~