Have you ever thrown a rock into a perfectly clear lake? Well, you’re also probably the one who unnecessarily walks through the yard after a fresh blanket of snow. Hey, stop talking about the snow! That’s a touchy subject this time of year. I’m trying to plant corn!
I’m always impressed by the impact of one tiny rock on so much water. If you haven’t done this before, maybe take a trip north.
Perfectly clear lakes are a little hard to find around here since I’m from the only county in Minnesota without a natural lake – there’s always the old pond out back where you can give it a try.
As a kid, I would love to go down to the pond and play by the water. I remember being so impressed by the impact of one little rock.
Impact. What a perfectly impactful word. Impact can be scary. It’s the idea of something forcefully hitting something else. After all, it’s not the fall that hurts, it’s the fast stop at the bottom.
When my brother was pretty young, he bought some bowling balls at a garage sale and found a perfect use for one of them.
Lugging that bowling ball all the way to the top of the silo was quite a feat for a young kid.
I walk over the spider web cracks in the cement every day caused by the impact of the bowling ball being dropped from 60 feet in the air.
I’ve had my own experience preparing for impact. As a flight attendant, we had to learn to repeatedly yell the mantra, “Brace! Brace! Brace! Head down!” It would be important to remember in the event the captain informed us of an emergency “landing.”
When I first learned how to paraglide, instead of waiting until the right time, I would flare the wing early, which meant crashing straight down instead of nicely alighting onto the ground.
It’s surprising how it doesn’t always take a large impact to have a dramatic result. I heard of someone who, when he was learning to fly, brushed the tassels of a corn field just enough to tilt the angle of his wing forward and fly him straight into the ground. It was a small impact that led to a great crash.
In the same way, I bet you can still remember some life changing words that were spoken to you as a child.
A grandparent who admired you and said they were proud of you. An uncle who spoke the truth to you or a friend who paid you a compliment.
One thing I remember is my grandma always telling me how much she liked my hands. My hands are always with me, so it makes me think of her often.
On the contrary, there are those cutting words. The words we should forget but will too often stick with us the closest and make many ripples.
Remember this, you have the power of both life and death in your tongue (Prov 18:21).
Has your boss recently heard you say thanks for your job? Have your employees recently heard you say thanks for supporting your vision? Will your children grow up knowing that you’re proud of them?
How will you impact your children, grandchildren, and friends?
Your life can be the stone that sends ripples to the edges of your lake. What kind of ripples are you sending?
What is one small thing you can do today that will make change? Change is easy if it’s also something that you like. I find that I enjoy healthy food more than unhealthy food, as I am accustomed to it. I find that I crave a good quart of kefir. Not only do I love it, it is so good for me! One small change you could make is adding kefir to your morning routine. Store bought is good, but homemade is easy and cheaper.
Meet your farmer – Jonathan Gerdes. He and his wife run a farm-to-table raw milk dairy in Caledonia, Minn. If he isn’t in the barn, you can find him dating his wife, playing with his kids, leading youth group, or flying in the sky. Visit gerdesfreshfarm.com for more info.
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