Impact

As I begin preparing for a new semester of teaching, I decided it was probably time to read the book that our students are asked to read. I'm quite a bookworm and love to read, but somehow, having a very active (and seriously adorable!) 3-year-old seems to wipe most of my book reading aside. 

Alas, the time has come to begin reading ... (silence) ...Can you hear the crickets chirping? 

Yup, that's what's been happening all summer long. While I've read a number of other books, I just couldn't seem to pick up the book, so I decided, with some sage advice, to watch the movie/documentary first. I thought I knew the plot already and figured out how I wanted to incorporate it in my class. But after the movie, once again, I've found a little different direction.

The book is No Impact Man by Colin Beavan (http://noimpactman.typepad.com/). It's about a man and his wife and 2-year old daughter who live a year with "no impact" on the environment, while living in New York City. While they allow themselves small allowances along the way, they succeed. They live without taking out the trash, use cloth diapers, wash their clothes in their bathtub, take public transportation, and even live without electricity for half the time. Many of the things they did I could not imagine myself even considering, but what I am considering are they things they lived WITH instead of WITHOUT.

They lived WITH Each Other. 
Do we really know the impact of living with each other? I mean, really learning how to spend time with someone without the distraction of a television, a phone, a mobile device or a computer?  What happens during a storm when the lights go off? We run to our cell phones, right? What happens when the cell phones are missing? We panic, right? I'm not talking about trading in lights or phones, but consider for just a moment, spending time with the people we love without the noise. For me, that's an evening of Candyland and hide-and-go-seek or music by candlelight as Billy plays his guitar and Kendall beats on the drum. 


They rewrote their Values.
What was once important for them, became a distant memory and a life that once was. What emerged was their focus on their family and the things that brought them together in the first place. They quickly realized it wasn't about eating at all the right restaurants. Rather, it was about eating together and learning the importance that we truly are what we eat. 

So my takeaway, my heart2heart is this ...
What is our own impact? For Colin and his family, it was about having little to no impact on the environment which in turn, created quite an impact for people reading about his lifestyle.


For me, I am re-discovering my impact. Several things in the past few weeks have shown me that God is truly in control of my life and He is guiding my impact. He keeps proving over and over again that no matter what I feel the problems and solutions are, only He knows the answer. Only He can show me the way to live the life He has planned for me.


For fear of being too vague, let me give you a real situation. About a month ago, when I was sick with a pretty high fever, I had a little conversation with God. He told me that I needed to be involved more with children. I naturally thought of my church's children ministry. For those who know me well, they should know this is not my own thought or desire. I knew it had to be from God. A week or so later, I had a chance to talk to someone about getting involved in my church's children's ministry. I talked myself out of that conversation and instead "ignored" that voice and told myself they probably didn't need my help after all. 


A week or so later, a dear friend asked me to move in a more leadership role for a special non-profit group that I volunteer with, Palmetto Hearts. This is a group who helps support South Carolina children and families that have congenital heart defects (like what Kendall was born with and is our miracle baby!). I knew this was part of God's recent "voice" so I'm moving in that direction.


Then, just last week, I received an email from the children's ministry asking me to help in Kendall's Sunday School class after a sudden medical emergency for one of her teachers ... for 4 weeks! I stepped up to the plate for that with a loving heart. And now, in the past 2 days, I've been asked to consider helping in at least 3 other children's ministry opportunities! God continues to put more in my path.


You see my friends, this is not fate. This is the fire that God is putting in my heart. He is wanting that warmth to spread. I honestly do not believe I would have come to this desire on my own. I know this is something God is wanting me to do.

While I am still considering and praying about the new directions God is leading me towards, I know this much... He is calling me to Impact. Maybe Colin Beavan's impact is a lot more than he set out with. I'm not sure what this means for me and quite honestly, I'm a little scared. I'm no longer following my path. I'm following the path He is charting for me. 

I share this video with you because recently, the more I ask for His help in things, the more He shows me His way, even if it is through others and their journeys or in the form of emails and text messages. I find a way to Him.