CHANGING WHAT I CAN WHEN I CAN

As a counselor I promote change; change in people, change in environments, change in circumstances.

And it occurs to me that during our vacation to Scotland and Ireland, almost a year ago now, that I was involved in some unexpected, unpremeditated changes; which I will always remember with a smile on my face, and a chuckle in my heart.

*During a stop in Northern Ireland, I stepped off our tour bus, walked up to a mural related to women’s rights and vocations, (that covered twenty feet of a wall which separated the Protestant and Catholic communities of Belfast), and I left my name there; adding it to a thousand other names which had been inscribed there before me.

*During an overnight stop in central Scotland my wife, daughter, and I sat down for dinner in our hotel restaurant. Everything was quite nominal, until we stood to return to our room. As I stood up, I stretched out my left hand to steady myself; presuming that the curtain next to me had a solid wall behind it. (Well, dear readers, it didn’t)! I found myself falling into a recess which was hidden behind the curtain. Grabbing the curtain, I managed to right myself, but not before my wife emitted a scream of 100+ decibels!

You’ve seen those commercials where only the main character is moving and breathing and speaking, and everyone around him is frozen in time? My wife and I found ourselves part and parcel of our own ‘commercial.’ A hundred fifty people seated at the surrounding tables froze, their voices were stilled, and all eyes were fixed upon us. Needless to say, we made a hasty exist from “the scene of the crime.” 

Purposely sitting down at the same table for breakfast, I noticed that I had managed to tear about three inches of the seam of the curtain away from its hooks. And of course, I could not step away from the table without checking out the closet behind the curtain. Moving the right edge of the curtain away from the wall, an old piano, and some non-descript table furnishings greeted my eyes.

Pt. 2

*While we were in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland, my mind was taken up with my known, and unknown grandfathers and grandmothers, as it never was before.

In each city from whence one of my ancestors originated, I left a tribute to him or her in the form of a simple note on the face of a dollar bill, which recounted his or her name and life, and whatever else to which I was privy; along with my name and relationship to the man or woman.

And with this, I secreted the currency beneath the foot of a heavy desk, bureau, or bedstead in the room to which we were assigned, and in the location with which my ancient grandfather, or grandmother was most and best acquainted.

And whereas, I left a piece of my heart, and a paltry bit of cash behind, my dear grandfathers and grandmothers surrendered all their heart; and the losses they sustained cannot be calculated.

But whereas, my immigrant ancestors never returned to the peoples and homes and lands they knew and loved so well, I think, in essence, I have returned in their place.

Of course, I understand that the changes which I have recounted were both miniscule and innocuous. And I am aware that when it is “all said and done” a torn curtain, a signature on a wall, and a few hidden, inscribed pieces of currency “won’t amount to a hill of beans.”

However, the haphazard, inconsequential changes which I ‘inflicted’ on my ancestral environment, (and which I previously described) are metaphoric of the changes, (or at least the influence) that we, as believers, are privileged to exercise among our fellow men. Granted, we may think them miniscule, and hardly worth recounting, but having said a word, or taken an action, one person’s world may be irrevocably changed for God and for good.

I can think of any number of examples in which I encouraged a fellow believer, or non-believer, by words or actions, and went on about the business of living, and moving, and breathing; only to discover what an inestimable impact those words or actions had on the person on which they were, sometimes, almost mindlessly bestowed.

Pt. 3

In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul the Apostle encourages us to emulate his own words and actions, and, in so doing, to emulate the words and actions of the One who came before him. Second only to our relationship with the Father, we have been called to love, and exercise a relationship with our fellow man.

Our dear brother, and fellow believer, Peter admonished us that,

“We serve a God who judges men according to their (words and) actions.” 1^st Peter 1:17

There is absolutely no other way to exercise our impact on those whom God has set in our pathway.

I often think of the subtle changes I enacted upon that curtain in central Scotland, that mural in Belfast, and in the hidden recesses of bedsteads and dressers in my ancestral homelands.

However, one day the curtain will, no doubt, be repaired. One day the mural will be replaced, or the wall, itself, will be demolished; reuniting people of the same bloodline who have too long tolerated separation. And one day the bedsteads and dressers will be moved, or changed out, and the folding money I inscribed will be discovered, and tucked in someone’s pocket. And whatever temporal changes I managed to make in my ancestral fairyland will disappear like fog in the morning.

The apostle John admonished the believers of his day, and all his brothers and sisters throughout the ages, with the words,

“But this life, and the lust of it are passing away. But he who does the will of God endures forever.” 1^st John 2:17

As believers, we are privileged to bless, help, and encourage, irrevocably impact those in our sphere of influence, and promote the possibility of change within them.

I can think of nothing more exciting, nor anything with which I would rather be involved.

by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 91. Copyright pending

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