Not long ago, I was reminded again of the pain and heartache in the world.
It’s not that I’d forgotten exactly, but sometimes it’s there — everywhere you look. It becomes hard to miss and impossible to ignore.
That was a week I could see the struggle behind the smiles. I could read the heartache in written words. I could hear the pain in the tears.
Family members struggling.
Loved ones hurting.
Friends grieving.
Strained and broken relationships.
Physical and emotional pain.
Financial hardships.
Everyone has something to deal with, and while our struggles may be different, they are no less real. They are no less significant.
Often, one of the only things we can do for someone is to be there. To listen, without giving advice (unless asked) and to extend compassion, even when we don’t understand.
What else can we do?
3 Things We Can Do to Make a Difference in Someone’s Day
1) Smile
I wonder how often one person’s smile is the best part of someone else’s day. Something so small, and yet so big and important. So easy, but forgotten about when we get busy and rush through the day.
What if, regardless of our mood or how our day is going, we make an effort to smile more—with our families, co-workers, at the grocery store, the bank, the school—wherever we have the opportunity to make a difference? Your smile may be just what someone else needs today.
2) Reach Out
When someone is in your thoughts, let them know. God will bring someone to mind and place them in our hearts for a reason. He knows they need a kind word. They need to feel remembered. They need to know someone is thinking of, and praying for, them.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from a friend at just the right time. I want to be that friend to another. I’ll admit, I’m working on this one. I have a habit of putting off an email, thinking I’ll get to it later, and then forgetting. But I’m trying to be intentional about reaching out to others.
3) Pray
Something happens when we pray. We draw closer to the One who hears us and sees everything. He not only works in the lives of those we pray for, but He works in our lives.
Prayer changes us from the inside out, in ways we may not even be aware of. Perhaps you’ve been praying for someone, or for a situation, for so long and you’re ready to give up. I know the feeling. But, we can’t give up. Prayer matters! It makes a difference, even if we can’t see it.
We may never know if, or how, our prayers were answered for someone else’s life. But God knows, and that’s what matters.
How can you make a difference in someone’s day today?
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control’
Galatians 5:22-23
By Laura Rath
Used by Permission
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