Pebbles and Ripples

I was making a liverwurst sandwich today and thought of your mom!
Either she introduced me to it or I liked the way she smeared it on the bread.
Either way, I’ve been eating it ever since then.
A happy random thought on a Tuesday!

This sweet message was waiting for me when I checked my personal Facebook page.
It was written by a friend of mine from grade school and high school.
We lived on the same street when we were girls and have just recently reconnected.

Her words blessed my heart.
They made me think of my mother.
They brought my back to a simpler time.

The ripple effect.
The pebble skimming on the pond.
The little things you do without thinking that impact another.

Imagine.
My mother simply made a liverwurst sandwich.
Probably on white bread, on a paper plate, with a napkin folded in a triangle.

Today’s health standards would say that was a horrible lunch to serve.
It was not the food on the plate; it was the the love with which it was prepared.
My friend, the same age as me, remembers a special sandwich well into her adulthood.

A pebble can’t help but ripple if it is thrown into a pond.
The ripples expand and multiply making an exquisite piece of art on the water.

So it is with one life.
The cup of tea you have with a friend who comes over unexpectedly.
A scented candle burning in the kitchen.
The smell of freshly baked brownies when your children come home from school.
Ripples.

I remember when my boys were younger.
They would be outside playing basketball or riding bikes with other neighborhood boys.
Boys get hungry; so inevitably they would all come inside for a snack.

A boy on our street came into our house one day and surprised me with his words.
Mrs. Gallagher, it always smells so good when I come in your house!
It was a funny thing to remember but my friend reminded me of little things.
Ripples.

Mom, can you cut my sandwich in triangles?
Mom, can you scratch my back?
Mom, can you make sure there are blue M & M’s in my lunch?

Ripples are not expensive things.
Ripples just happen.

When I took care of my aunt, the time came when she eventually had no appetite.
I talked to her doctor and told him my concerns.
He told me to give her whatever she wanted to eat.
He just wanted her to get her appetite back.

It was difficult to make her favorite sandwich.
I would never have put the things together that she wanted between two pieces of bread!
Cinnamon bread with mayonnaise, sliced tomatoes, and pimento loaf!
It must have been the salt-sweet combination she desperately craved!

Doctor, are you sure? This is what she is asking for…as I told him her request.
He laughed and said, Give it to her; at this point I just want her to eat.
I made the sandwich for her and she ate every bite.
She followed her sandwich with chocolate milk.

The doctor understood pebbles and ripples even when I doubted.

In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated, is Dorcas) who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Peter went with them and when He arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning towards the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. (Acts 9:36-42)

Dorcas knew about ripples.
Dorcas was a pebble skimming across the pond.
Without even realizing it, Dorcas created a beautiful piece of art that was remembered.

While she was helping the poor and the widows, she never considered her own renown.
She was simply concerned with them and how to best meet their needs.

Ripples have a way of being unobtrusive.
Ripples keep moving and expanding; they eventually fade against the water’s edge.

Your life has a ripple effect that may surprise you if you knew.
GOOD!
Be thankful you are unaware!

Be a pebble.
Skim the pond.
Let the ripples multiply beyond the scope of your vision.
Someone may remember fondly.