The Butterfly Effect

I just finished reading Michael W. Smith's book "What I learned from a Simple Blessing," and on page 147 he writes, "...the small flashes of light we beam into the lives of others can have more meaning than we think. It's an example of what some physicists call the "butterfly effect." In short, the butterfly effect says that the amount of air displaced by a butterfly's wings can eventually generate a hurricane. No, they're not talking about some monstrous mutant butterfly. They meant that small movements of air cause other small movements, and those movements combine to build momentum and create larger movements until finally enough of these movements accumulate to generate winds of hurricane force. You may bless someone in a small way that you think nothing about. Your blessing causes that person to take a given action, which in turn affects two or three others. Those three go on to affect six more, who in turn affect twelve others, until a family, a community, a city, a state or a nation is turned around." The reason this section of his book touched me was because butterflies have always intrigued me, their birth and stages of development fascinate me. Even more so the correlation between that and my own life. I was listening to T.D. Jakes the other day and he mentions many times in his messages about fulfilling your "destiny". My destiny. I'm 57 years old and am still searching for "my destiny," God's purpose for my life. This thought leads me to thinking about my legacy. What will I leave behind after I've died that has an impact on others' lives? What God-give purpose fulfills my destiny, my legacy? Some people die quite young and leave a lasting legacy that changes peoples lives forever, while others die in their 80's or 90's and no one even comes to their funeral. Case in point, my husband and I were stopped at a red light just yesterday for a funeral procession...there were, beside the hearse, only 6-8 cars following the deceased to his/her final resting place. I wondered, what legacy did that person leave behind with the flap of their "butterfly" wings? Granted, many peoples' lives may only touch their immediate family and that is their purpose, to be remembered lovingly, or not, by their family. Not everyone is destined to change the world, the term "world" being used respectfully. But should we aim so low? I'm thinking this past weekend of my grandmother as I am refurbishing her non-working organ into a useful writing desk and have time after time remembered the two of us playing together on the two organs she had in her home. It also reminds me of the countless lives she affected as a grade school teacher and the many times children would go to her desk seeking help. Her focus was the "children", young and old, brought into her life and in one way or another making their lives better. Did her actions change "the world"? Probably not, but her actions affected those people's world. She was not a saint, she made mistakes in her relationships early on that changed the lives of her own children for the rest of their lives, but I believe she more than made up for those mistakes by ministering into the lives of others for the rest of her life. So does my/your beam of light into the lives of others have more meaning than we think? I believe it does, both for the good and for hopefully only occasionally to the bad. Is my goal to have more good than bad? Well, sure it is. So how do I do that? Is it possible to do it on my own? Do I want to do it on my own and just hope for the best? Or is there a better way to flap the wings my heavenly Father has created and prepared for me to use? Michael W. Smith writes (on page 148): "We never know the long-range impact of our deeds, words or examples. We have the ability to affect people daily, not only through small acts of kindness but simply through the way we live. That is why it is critical that you and I strive to live in holiness every moment." So going to the gym every morning at 5:00 AM, does that really have an affect on anybody but me? Well, it does if you count the women I meet and talk to in the locker room. It does if you take into consideration the songs the Lord gives me while I'm in the pool that I can share with someone hurting. But, you may say, you're not losing weight very fast, what affect does that have? Well, this is the way I've come to look at it. I'm losing weight that I didn't even know I had, weight that burdened me down even more than the physical weight. I'm obeying my Lord's command to keep on going and leaving the results to Him. That makes my life and outlook lighter. In the meantime I'm flapping my butterfly wings which gives Him the honor and glory for each life that is touched. One day, like the heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews, I may only "see" the results when I'm home with my Jesus. But I believe by faith that God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, is the force, the wind beneath my wings and the world He's given me is changed.