“ Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity.” (I Timothy 4:12b CEV)
I sat down at my computer to write on a thought I had about throwing pebbles in the water, small stones, much smaller than a rock that boast by means of its mere size and seems to make a big splash when cast into the water; a splash noticeable for a quick, short time before disappearing as if it never existed. As I continued thinking, in the wake of the social justice movements and celebrations across the world a couple of days ago, I found myself concurring with those who agreed with the celebratory moments, but also, in their own way and words, they expressed how the momentum must continue to advance democracy in the USA. Still contemplating in a serene, silent, and serious mode, I switched to thinking about the spiritual impact of the way Christianity and its values spread or should be spreading. For some it is a splash that is momentous at first, but its impact is only momentarily or short in nature, much like the rock alluded to above. For others, it is likened to a pebble in the water, either a small means that leads to great results, more far reaching than one will ever know, or it is where the actions of believers, out of the spotlight, but never through shining, never out of service, performing some small deed, showing a short expression of kindness, sharing a brief yet wise word, or surrendering their personal priorities to preferably serve others selflessly behind the scenes. That pebble in the water, described in my analogy, generates ripples that go on and on, reaching people in the present generations that are identified by the years in which they were born and future generations that have yet to be birthed.
When I got to this point, finishing the paragraph above, I looked up “pebbles in the water” to make sure my thinking was not out of bounds and the analogy was accurate. I had no idea that in my search, I would find a book entitled “Pebbles In the Water,” a children’s book written in 2004 by B. Lewis Barnett, or a poem by James W. Foley, written in 2009, entitled “Drop a Pebble in the Water.” The latter find made my work much easier today and substantiated my selection of a title today. I’m going to share two verses that Mr. Foley wrote, but I want to also encourage you today to take time and look up his work on the internet and read the full content of his poem. It will touch your life. It will have you asking yourself, “Am I a rock or a pebble?” Read the excerpts below my friend with an open heart and you will be challenged to drop a pebble in the water or drop more pebbles in the water in this world in which we live. Be blessed!
“Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.”
“Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave.”
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King