If you have ever thrown a small stone into a pond or any body of water, you probably noticed ripples that started all around the site where the stone hit, they traveled wider and wider, sometimes even all the way to the edge of the water. I like to compare it to a visual echo.
I remember once reading a poem telling about how each of our lives are like a ripple effect. There is much truth to this. Good or bad, negative or positive, we all effect each other and we all will leave some type of imprint of this world. We effect one another with our attitude, our words and our deeds. Sometimes we effect one another just simply with our presence.
We all effect those closest to us, our families and close friends, probably the very most,. Also our co-workers, who are more or less our "work family.". When you study generations of families you will find this ripple effect. We pass our value system, our beliefs, our customs and our attitudes to the next generation. Sometimes the effect is not what you might expect. A parent who is not around to help raise a child still has an effect on the child. A lot of the effect centers around why the parent is not there, how the absence is handled by whoever is raising the child is also a ripple, but there is always an effect. This brings to mind a conversation I once had with a man about his children. I was trying to explain to him how parents always effect their children, be it a positive or negative effect. The man felt that because his children didn't particularly feel close to him he had no influence over them. The children didn't feel close to him because of his attitude and indifference while raising them. The man had actually learned this from his own Father. In the end the children actually loved the man, but in raising their own children they said they wanted to be "anything but like him..." This was the man's ripple effect on his children and grandchildren.
We also effect others outside of our circle, people we meet in the world People we meet in our everyday life. We might meet them on the street, in the store....maybe on this site. We never know who God might put in our path to encourage in this journey we call life. I believe God gives us opportunity daily to positively effect one another. I believe he puts certain people in our path. Maybe at times for encouragement, other times to encourage. That person you pass may just need a smile or kind word to give them hope to keep trying.... and a little hope can go a long way. Most times we may never know exactly how far or how wide our ripples go.
I think the question we all need to ask ourselves is what kind of effect we are having on those we love and come in contact with. How far do our ripples go? Hopefully, our actions won't be causing any waves and storms.....!!
I remember once reading a poem telling about how each of our lives are like a ripple effect. There is much truth to this. Good or bad, negative or positive, we all effect each other and we all will leave some type of imprint of this world. We effect one another with our attitude, our words and our deeds. Sometimes we effect one another just simply with our presence.
We all effect those closest to us, our families and close friends, probably the very most,. Also our co-workers, who are more or less our "work family.". When you study generations of families you will find this ripple effect. We pass our value system, our beliefs, our customs and our attitudes to the next generation. Sometimes the effect is not what you might expect. A parent who is not around to help raise a child still has an effect on the child. A lot of the effect centers around why the parent is not there, how the absence is handled by whoever is raising the child is also a ripple, but there is always an effect. This brings to mind a conversation I once had with a man about his children. I was trying to explain to him how parents always effect their children, be it a positive or negative effect. The man felt that because his children didn't particularly feel close to him he had no influence over them. The children didn't feel close to him because of his attitude and indifference while raising them. The man had actually learned this from his own Father. In the end the children actually loved the man, but in raising their own children they said they wanted to be "anything but like him..." This was the man's ripple effect on his children and grandchildren.
We also effect others outside of our circle, people we meet in the world People we meet in our everyday life. We might meet them on the street, in the store....maybe on this site. We never know who God might put in our path to encourage in this journey we call life. I believe God gives us opportunity daily to positively effect one another. I believe he puts certain people in our path. Maybe at times for encouragement, other times to encourage. That person you pass may just need a smile or kind word to give them hope to keep trying.... and a little hope can go a long way. Most times we may never know exactly how far or how wide our ripples go.
I think the question we all need to ask ourselves is what kind of effect we are having on those we love and come in contact with. How far do our ripples go? Hopefully, our actions won't be causing any waves and storms.....!!
