Make a Difference

If I were to ask you to think of ways that you can make a difference in this world, what would you say?  I tend to think of people with grand abilities & large-scale projects as those who make a difference.  And they do, but this week, I've rediscovered that sometimes, often even, it's the seemingly "little things" that count the most.

I've been reading through my new "Ten Girls" series.  They're books for young girls that are perfect to read when you just have a minute or two to kill.  I was particularly struck this past week by Ten Girls Who Made a Difference, as it wasn't at all what I was expecting.  I saw grand names like Katherine Luther, Bethan Lloyd-Jones, Edith Schaeffer, & Susannah Spurgeon.  These are women married to legendary men!  I expected an outline of grand & marvelous deeds that shaped the world.  I got them, too, but again in a wholly different way than I thought I would.

The book opened with Monica of Thagaste.  "Who???", I pondered.  I found out quickly that this was St. Augustine's mother.  She was a steadfast woman who prayed constantly throughout the years amid scoffs from her husband & licentious living by her son.  Her prayers availed & her son was finally brought to salvation.  This was her great contribution - prayer.  Each of the women profiled had similar stories:  Katherine Luther supported her husband emotionally & spiritually, Susanna Wesley poured her life into her children & brought them up in the ways of the Lord, Ann Judson prevented the destruction the Burmese Bible translation that she & her husband were working on by hiding it, Susannah Spurgeon began a book fund for poor pastors, Bethan Lloyd-Jones was always available to any person who had need, & the list goes on!

If you're anything like me, you might be tempted to think that only people in leadership positions who are involved in larger-than-life works make a difference.  Praying for someone's salvation, supporting & encouraging my husband, showing hospitality & love to everyone I meet - these seem like such little things.  This little, unpretentious book reminded me that those "little things" that we sometimes look down upon are often the most important.