The Domino...

Like dominos all lined up, once one goes down, the whole lineup is affected regardless of that first domino being aware of its impact. We resemble dominoes more than we could ever realize. Our lives are intertwined; affecting others without us even knowing. We live our daily lives feeling as though no one sees or hears us, but little do we know that what we choose to do or say echoes. If we think of all the times someone has talked about us without us being present, whether good or bad, that is us being seen without our knowledge. It is our lives affecting others. Like a water droplet that dives into the body of water below, unaware of what will happen next, it leaves behind a ripple that cascades through each drop that came before it. We are that water drop.

It’s A Wonderful Life

There is a movie that truly revolutionized this concept for me. It’s A Wonderful Life is a Christmas movie, for those who haven’t seen it. It’s a movie about a man who experiences what life would look like if he never existed. It highlights each life he didn’t know he touched. At one time or another, we have wondered if we make a difference. Now, there are different levels of this feeling. The lighter scenario is when we don’t feel seen or our life might at times feel insignificant as though we aren’t making a difference. Then there is the higher level, “Does our life matter”? “Would we be missed”? It’s a dark turn to take, but a common feeling to feel. We forget that every conversation we have or smile we give can change the dynamic of someone else's typical routine. Our path feels as though it is simple and as though we are not a necessary piece of a bigger puzzle. As much as we would all like to step outside of the world and have each person we have affected highlighted so we could prove to ourselves that we make a difference, that will never happen. We have to rely on our faith and wisdom of God’s plan. We can reflect on each person or moment that has changed the direction of our lives, however big or small. Each interaction adds to our life. There are countless stories shared of someone looking at a stranger and simply sharing a smile. It might have felt like nothing to us, we might not even realize we did it, but maybe to them, they were amongst the lies of being invisible and alone asking for a sign. And when they received that spontaneous polite smile, they felt their prayer being answered. They obtained that sign and felt seen. We didn’t know them, we might not ever see them again, but that was an impact. We participated in mapping out the path that God drew.

Honestly

I often feel as though I make no difference. I feel that I am not talked about, that I am alone, and that the world would have looked the same if my parents stopped at 3. It’s easy to fall into this trap of lies. It is so comfortable to allow those thoughts to strangle us and build until we have a wall around us of darkness and hopelessness. But reminding ourselves we have worth in this world can start to create cracks in that wall. To think about people in our life who make an impact on us and imagine them not being there. Trying to wrap our heads around what we would be doing. Or, who would we be? It is honestly depressing. Life is so easy to take for granted. People with platforms have an easier time knowing that they are making an impact. They might not need to be reminded as often that they are seen and heard. Although that’s not to say that there may be some who struggle just as much as we do.

Unaware

We live our daily, normal lives. We wake up, we do our tasks for the day, we eat, we pay our bills, we watch a little TV, maybe read a book, scroll on social media, perhaps we workout, possibly send a Snapchat to the wrong person, and then we go to sleep only to wake up and repeat. But what we are unaware of is what goes on between the lines. We start the day, we go out for coffee. We see the baristas and carry out a simple, yet noticeable conversation, maybe we complement their outfit. Unknowingly, we made the barista's day. We then go to work or school or go back home to the kids. Every conversation we have that day, every smile, compliment, or word of encouragement carries over regardless of if we hate our job, can’t wait to be done with school, or feel like we are going crazy only talking to our kids. That space is the time when lives are the most impacted. We stop for lunch and smile at the host who was having the worst day. That lights a spark in them, then we go to leave and leave a decent tip. That tip proves that the waiter's kindness and hard work were worth it and appreciated. It also helps to provide groceries that we didn’t know they were worried about buying. We go home and turn on the TV or grab our book. The knowledge we gain from our book now is later used to strike up a conversation with someone at the gym who was feeling incredibly lonely and needed a person to talk to. We then send a Snapchat but hit the wrong name which opens a door to talk with a friend we haven’t talked to in a while. This rekindles a forgotten friendship. Then we go home and go to sleep to recharge completely unaware of the lives we touched. Cause and effect.

Eyes And Ears

We are aware that we talk and see other people. We know that others see our photos or stories that we post. I know that people read my blog. But, for some reason that doesn’t feel enough. We often wait for people to talk about it. We want someone to flatter us and say that we made an impact on their day. We would appreciate it if someone commented they liked the photo or appreciated the same thing we found interest in. But, 98% of the time that doesn’t happen. Occasionally we will be blessed with learning how we changed someone's life or simply made an impact, but most of the time we just need to have faith in knowing our lives are important and matter regardless of if we physically hear it. I watched a video today on Instagram, I don’t remember whose video it was, but not going to lie, it made me teary-eyed. A man was leaving work and felt the Lord tell him to talk to his coworker in the copy room who was an atheist. He invited him to church and was sharing God with him, but no progress was made and he left. He left wondering why God would have him go talk to a guy who kept shooting him down. Years later the guy became a pastor. After church one Sunday a man approached him and shared his story. This guy had worked at the same company and was in the room behind the copier when the now pastor began talking about God and inviting their coworker to church. He felt convicted and that Sunday brought his wife and son to church with him where they all gave their lives to God. We are so unaware of how powerful our actions can be.

A Little Reminder

We all know that our lives build off of one another. We depend on others, but forget that others depend on us even when we feel forgotten and alone. We are a building block in a much larger project than we are aware of. We don’t always control how we choose to affect others and make an impact. Sometimes it is beyond our control. But, we need to realize and remember we hold power in this world. Power to change the direction of someone else. I shared how we affect others to build them up, but we also hold the power to tear someone down. Bullying, teasing, and how we use our facial expressions, can alter someone's life. It is hard to understand how intertwined we all are, but we need to remember that we make a difference in this world.

Life is a gift not to be taken lightly. It can be easy to lose sight of that, but God doesn’t make mistakes. This was a bit of a longer one this week. But, it felt important to share. I hope that you enjoyed reading this and have an amazing weekend. Please feel free to comment, share, follow on Instagram, and subscribe. As always, thanks for reading Allie-Cats!

• Dru Allie