Weekly Reflection - 9/11

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

Notice I didn’t ask if you remembered where you were because I think all of us have a pretty memory of that day. My kids were 3 and 4 years old at the time and we were going about our morning routine. I happened to have the Today show on TV when they began talking about one of the twin towers being hit by what appeared to be a plane. Everyone was confused at first, thinking it had been an accident at first. My husband happened to be home that morning and I went to tell him that something was going on and we watched the rest of the events unfold together. Not just my husband and I watched together, but the whole nation. It was a nation-wide shared event in our history that connects us all together, even to this day. It is an extreme example but a good reminder that we are all impacted by choices made by other people. It’s a pretty scary and helpless feeling, but what if I flip it around?

If the negative choices someone makes ripples across other’s lives and into the future, what about the positive choices for good? There is tremendous opportunity and responsibility in that. Everything we say and do has the opportunity to ripple through the world around us and well into the future. That’s how a legacy is created. It is about intentional choices made now that will impact not just ourselves but countless others. Everything that is put out there into the world, all our actions, words, even inaction is going to be received by someone. I find a lot of hope in that.

Can you think of any examples of how some negative choices of another has impacted you? What are some of the emotions that come to mind when you think about it?

What are some practical choices you can make that may cause a ripple effect of good?

Are you willing to put out something good into the world, knowing you may never see the full impact?

How is Jesus guiding you toward action right now?

What do you want your legacy to look like?

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10