Ripple Effect
You are a rock!
When a rock is thrown into a body of water, a ripple occurs. You are capable of creating a ripple effect to those around you. You can create a ripple effect without even knowing it.
Let me share what I mean.
At our January Launch (a time where we send out our next 4-8 groups of Racers), I was sitting and listening to our alumni Parent Panel share their stories and answer questions with all of the new parents. Something they said struck a chord with me and it wasn’t necessarily a pleasant one at first. At least two different parents mentioned wanting to talk their Racer out of going on the World Race. In the beginning, they didn’t understand why their son or daughter had to go on this journey. When they said this, I was sitting there telepathically telling them not to do that, and thanking Jesus for not letting it work. The reason I had such a strong reaction to this was that the son of one of those parents was the person that God used to call me to the World Race.
If Ron (the dad) had somehow continued to press Logan and convince him not to go on the World Race, I honestly don’t know if I would be where I am today. I worked summer camp with Logan right before he went on the World Race. It was not something he talked about continuously all summer long. He mentioned it at the beginning of the summer and then again at the end and that was it. But God used that simple interaction over the summer to place the World Race on my heart and mind.
The summer ended and I resumed life as normal at seminary, except that I kept thinking about the World Race. I constantly found myself on their website reading blogs and watching videos. It was at this point that I stopped and asked God if the World Race was what I was supposed to do after I graduated. He said, “Yes.”
The best part is that it wasn’t until near the end of Logan’s race that he knew he had such an impact on my life. He had no idea that he had created a ripple effect. He had no idea just how much he was used by God to change and affect my life. All Logan knew was that he was saying ‘yes’ to what God was calling him to do.
So you see, if I had not worked camp with Logan, or if Ron had convinced Logan to not go on the World Race, I don’t know if I would have gone. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to say ‘yes’.
This then leads me to the question, what am I saying ‘no’ to that is preventing someone else from being able to say ‘yes’?
Is my ‘no’ preventing someone from having a fresh new encounter with the Father? It doesn’t have to be some big ‘no’ where I say ‘no’ to traveling to the other side of the world. It could be as simple as saying ‘no’ to going over to someone and saying hello and praying for them.
So this year, I am choosing to say “YES” whenever I can. I choose to be the rock that creates a ripple effect.
What do you need to say “YES” to?
