Ripples

Have you ever stood at the waters edge and thrown in a stones and watched the ripples spread out, sometimes the smallest of stones can have a dramatic effect and cause loads of ripples.

The same thing can be said for our daily lives, the smallest of actions can have the greatest of impacts that ripple though our lives and the lives of those around us.

A couple of years ago I was doing the rounds of my local charity shops trying to find any cheap bibles (I buy them and then pass them on to people who don't have a bible), and whilst i was in my local Oxfam shop a lady and her son came in looking for an old style King James bible, a few weeks earlier i had picked up a stack of bibles cheap and amongst them was an old King James bible, I listened as the lady asked the person behind the till if they had anything suitable and explain that she had been everywhere looking for a suitable one for a christening present, the person said "sorry all the bibles we have are on the shelf, and there doesn't look like there are any suitable." She look so sad and said that she would have to try in Cambridge and most probably end up paying a fortune for one.

It was at that point i remembered the bible i had brought a few weeks earlier, I said to the lady "excuse me, I may have something like what you are looking for, meet me outside poundland in about 30 mins." She looked at me like i was some crazy person, her son who was with her persuaded her to meet me.

I biked home as quick as i could and hunted out the old King James bible i had brought and made my way back into town, by the time i got back into town she was just about to walk off, I called her back and showed her the bible i had in my bag.

Her face lit up, and tears welled in her eyes, she said "that is the exact bible I am looking for, if you had took a picture of what was in my mind you are holding it in your hands right now, she asked me what i wanted for it and I said "you can have it, I don't want anything for it."

At that point the tears really started to flow down her face (and few welled up in my eyes  as well), she explained that she wasn't religious and didn't really believe in all this stuff but she said that she was getting so desperate that she had said a little prayer of sorts and that within a few minutes i had said that i had a bible that might be suitable, she asked me if I was an angel I just smiled and said no i just like to pass on God's word to people as it's the best gift that you can pass on to someone.

She still couldn't get her head round how a complete stranger could do something like this and how he little prayer could be answered so quickly, I said to her because it was a prayer from the heart God heard it and answered her.

She took the bible and insisted that i took something for it, so I told her i would give the money to my church and that i would pray for her, she walked off with her son and i could hear her still saying to him "I don't understand, I don't really believe in all this kind of stuff and yet this happened." Her son looked at her and said "well maybe it's like that guy said"

The next few weeks i could not get the lady out of my mind and continued to pray for her that the christening went well and that she might come to know God more.

A few weeks later and I was doing the rounds of the charity shops again and went into Oxfam looking for more bibles, when a voice came from behind the till "excuse me, but aren't you the guy who gave my mum a bible for a christening?" I looked, it was the ladies son. I said "yes, how did things go?"

He explained that in the few weeks following what i had done, that his mum had started to ask questions about faith, Jesus and God, and eventually started going to church. I was so happy, but there was more he explained that whilst in church she decided to come to faith, and that a major part in her decision was what i had done with the bible that day.

I was so happy to think that from what i thought was a small action, that the lady had come to know God and come to faith, it was like I said at the start the smallest of stones can make the largest of ripples.

After it was a stone being rolled away several thousand years ago that had a pretty major effect on the world.

When Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, it was this act of love that changed the world, I ask today that you pray and ask God for chances to throw your stones in the water and see what ripples spread out in the world around you.