Brighten the Corner

So I thought things would slow down after Easter.  Boy, was I wrong!  This week after Easter was just as busy as the week before.  This week has been really busy, too.  I really haven’t even looked yet at the week after that, but I’m sure there will be plenty to do then as well.

But is that a bad thing?  No, it’s not.  I am extremely lucky.  Or blessed, depending on your point of view, but being blessed is a lucky thing too, in a way, because I certainly don’t deserve such blessings.  Nearly everything I do is something that I really enjoy.  Nearly everything I do is something that gives me satisfaction.  Every day, I have a chance to make a positive difference in people’s lives.  That’s pretty cool.

Yes, there are times when I wish things would slow down a little, but overall, I really don’t.  God did not put us on earth to take it easy.  God put us on earth to do stuff.  God especially put us on earth to do stuff that helps people.  I am really lucky to get the chance to do that every day.

And so are you.  Because even though you’re not a pastor, you also have the chance to make a positive difference in people’s lives.  You also were put on earth to do stuff that helps people.  And you also get the chance to do that, every day.

Some of you may think that’s not true.  Some of you may be in difficult situations, due to health problems or other kinds of problems.  You may think that given your situation, there’s nothing you can do to help anyone.  But it’s not true.  There is always something you can do.  As long as we’re still on this earth, there is still something God wants us to do.

Remember the old song, “Brighten the Corner Where You Are”?  That’s something each one of us can do, no matter what your situation.  We can brighten it with a smile.  We can brighten it with a kind word.  We can brighten it with a prayer.  We can brighten it with a phone call or a letter or an email or a text.  There are all kinds of ways in which each one of us, every day, can brighten the corner where we are.

And of course, most of us are in situations where we can do a lot more than that.  In fact, most of us have lots of options.  There are all kinds of ways, limited only by our imagination, that we can brighten the corner where we are.

So that’s my challenge to you this week.  And it’s my challenge to me, too.  Each day, find some way to brighten the corner where you are.  Each day, find some way to make a positive difference in someone’s life.  You know what?  I’ll bet you find that doing it makes a positive difference in your life, too.