No Matter How Small

No Matter How Small

Jessica ran her fingers impatiently through her hair. The worry and fear was imminent in her eyes as she stared herself down in the cheap bathroom mirror.

Sounds of the cartoon her son was watching drifted from her bedroom across he tiny apartment.

"Jacob, come on!" She yelled, grabbing her keys. The sound abruptly died and a blond little fireball came dashing into the front room. She smiled at him as she helped him struggle into his coat.

"Mommy, mommy! Can I get a cheeseburger?" He pleaded.

"Sorry, honey. Not this time." Her smile faded as they headed out the door. How could she possibly take care of two kids if she couldn't even afford to feed the one she had now?

The councilor had been right. She didn't have a choice.

Sighing, she buckled her son and climbed into the drivers seat. Softly she heard him singing a song from the cartoon he had been watching.

"A persons a person no matter how small"

Keys in the ignition, Jessica froze.

"What did you say?" She whispered.

The boy looked up at her happily.

"Mommy, a person is a person, no matter how small."

Tears filled her eyes as she rested her hand tenderly on her stomach.

A person is a person no matter how small.

The words resounded through her heart.

"Mommy, where are we going?" The boy asked, his big eyes looking into hers in sweet innocence, penetrating the silence.

"No where." She smiled through her tears.

"None of us are going anywhere."

Choose Happiness

Choose Happiness

Elizabeth Smart was a sheltered fourteen year old girl, sleeping peacefully in her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, when a man snuck into her house and took her. Elizabeth was kidnapped on June 5, 2002. She was starved, given drugs and alcohol, lied to, and raped daily for nine months. She had done nothing wrong, hurt no one, and certainly never done anything to deserve that. And yet she lived through this hell. Most would say her world was pretty horrible. They would probably guess she was traumatized and carried a host of problems and addictions because of her experience. Guess where she is now? She is not addicted to drugs or living a life of confusion and misery. She is, in fact, the president of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, helping raise awareness and prevention for child kidnapping and abuse. She served a mission for her church, testified against her captors in court, and is now happily married. How could she overcome what she went through? Wouldn’t she, of all people, have the right to give up and say life wasn’t worth it? She didn’t. She forgave, she moved on, and she chose to be happy.

The most important thing we have is agency. We are born with love and the pursuit of happiness hardwired into us. The only world you have control over is the one you live in daily.  And here’s the best part; your world can be glorious. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve been through, happiness can be yours.  Goodness can permeate the air around you and smiles can reflect off the walls wherever you walk. Light can make a home inside you and shine for the rest of the world, everyone else, to see, and to follow. You can life a glorious life and be a radiant person.

Happiness is not a possession, it is not a material thing. Happiness is a choice. Let me make this clear- you can choose today, right now, this second, to be happy; and that choice can last forever. Oh, it won’t be easy; but the best things never are. It is, however, very possible.

The point is this: you have the power. Things will get worse before they get better, but you have the courage to stick it out, to find that happiness. You have the right to that agency, so use it wisely. Great things come to those who are willing to struggle up the hard path, while those who meander on the easy one never get anywhere. You can turn your world from a rotting mass of disappointment to a garden of sunflowers if you want. It’s up to you. In the words of A.A. Milne, "You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." 

The Unknowing Hero

The Unknowing Hero

I stare at the man in absolute wonder.

I steal glances when I think he isn't looking.

Suddenly, an ill-timed look catches his attention and our eyes meet. My soul is filled with wonder and awe at his dazzling blue eyes. I see in them strength, potential, eternity.

He drops his gaze immediately. His limp brown hair hangs dejectedly over his forehead, covering scars, spots, acne.

No matter. I saw him. I saw who he really was, and nothing else mattered.

He is a glorious Son of God. He will one day rule nations, peoples, worlds. He is among the chosen.

The man has no idea the wondrous glory in which I esteem his soul as, his gaze still dropped, he hands me my Big Mac.

You Can Make a Difference

You Can Make a Difference

Edmund Burke said,

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

We have seen this repeated over and over in history. Horrors that could have been prevented and evils that never should have happened rage on like wildfires because no one had the courage to stand up. The wonderful thing about this though, is the antithesis.

All that is required for good to prevail is for courageous men to stand up.

We have seen this through history as well. Lives saved, truth spread, and hearts changed as the result of one person courageous and competent enough to stand up.

Lila Rose was fifteen when she realized the truth about abortion.  She realized the horror of the American genocide that is happening right under our noses. She could have hung her head and shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well it sucks, but what can I do about it?” Instead she decided to act, to uncover the truth. A few years later, posing as a young pregnant girl, she walked into a Planned Parenthood facility with a hidden camera in her handbag. She caught the staff red handed, breaking rules and violating laws to sell abortions and admitting to horrible things like partial birth abortion. With these tapes she is, piece by piece, taking down Planned Parenthood and the evils of abortion.  She is the president of Live Action, distributing a newspaper and these videos. She goes under-cover, dying her hair to hide her identity while the next day she shows up in an interview and debates the people of Planned Parenthood on live television. Will she end abortion? Will she single handedly stop the killing of ever baby, ever? Probably not. But she is making a difference to hundreds of people, and she is in control of her own happiness. She is doing all she can because even if it won’t solve every problem, she is helping. Through that service she has found happiness; a life worth living.  

Truth is so bright it dispels the darkness and crushes the lies. Truth is the key! Find a truth and I guarantee it will change you, and you will want to share it. You may touch a nation or you may only touch one person. One person is all it takes.

Let me illustrate this for you- imagine a young boy walking along the beach, the sand freckled with starfish who had been beached at the tide and were now stranded on the shore, running out of life as the hot sun stole their moisture. The young boy was saddened at the scene and bent down, picked one up, and threw it to the sea, the life of the starfish saved.  The boy smiled at this power he had, to save their lives and do something about the sad situation. So he walked down the beach, picking up each little helpless starfish, and one by one, restoring them to the safety of their watery homes. For hours he labored, saving lives as he worked down the shore, until a man came up to him with a gruff and scorning look said, “Look at all these starfish. There must be millions of them! And there is only you, one person. You will never make a difference.” The boy thought for a moment and tenderly took a starfish into his hands. With confidence he tossed it to sea and looked back at the man, and smiling said, “I made a difference to that one.”

You have the power, the opportunity, and the courage to stand up. Do the hard thing; dig it up from its dark abyss of comfort and apathy and go out there and make a difference.