Church Families #20

My parents are not from California and so when we migrated west we were far away from people who shared our DNA.  We did maintain relationships with our southern roots and our family on the east coast as we made regular treks to visit them   (the added bonus was learning about the country by traveling across it). But we did not grow up with aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins in our daily lives, at least not ones that we were technically related to. We did however, have an extended family that loved us, disciplined us, prayed for us and taught us how to love God and get along. We grew up with a church family that still feels a lot like relatives. Several of them have gone to heaven in recent weeks so I find myself reminiscing as I reflect upon the impact they had in my life.

Such an impact is like ripples that move out when you drop a pebble in a still pond.  You know the metaphor – the chain reaction, the domino effect, the lingering aroma  – for me the pond and ripples metaphor impacts everyone. Every life has an impact on others. Some sit on the bank and carefully choose where they want to drop their pebble and others create patterns without even realizing the influence their pebbles have.  We are all creating patterns and interacting with our environment constantly. The key thing is to realize how long the ripples continue from one pebble. And the main question is what ripples am I causing? Will my ripples have a lasting effect?