You Can Make a Difference For Others

New York Times bestselling author Matthew Kelly tells of the time he was driving home from work, and a friend came to mind.  Kelly knew his friend was having a difficult time, and he hadn’t heard from him for a while.  So Kelly drove to the other side of town to drop in for a visit.

When his friend opened the door, Kelly was shocked at his friend’s disheveled appearance. The place was mess too.  Trash was everywhere.  Kelly suggested his friend shave and take a shower while Kelly ordered pizza and tried to clean up the place. He urged him, “Come on, you’ll feel so much better, and when you’re done the pizza will be here.”[1] The two sat on the front porch telling stories, and when they were done, Kelly drove home.

The next day Kelly found a handwritten note in his mailbox that said, “I was going to kill myself last night, but then you stopped by just to say hello, and I thought to myself somebody does care. So thank you.“[2]

What if when we’re walking down a crowded street each individual we met wore a sign around his neck revealing what he’s dealing with in life?  We’d see phrases like “My daughter is missing,” or “The doctor says I have stage four cancer,” or “Yesterday I lost my job,” and so on. No, I know we can’t stop everyone we meet and ask them to tell us their story. But I believe God sends people across our paths that we can help. Jesus told His disciples to lift up their eyes, and “look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35). May God help us to be sensitive to the difference we can make in one person’s life.

[1] Matthew Kelly, life is Messy (North Palm Beach, FL: Blue Sparrow, 2021), 54.

[2] Ibid.