You can be the miracle: Regina Brett
Published: Sunday, January 08, 2012, 5:10 AM
We need a miracle.
How often have you heard people say that? How often have you said it?
In times of trouble or despair, we want someone else to take action, someone stronger, smarter, more powerful than ourselves.
The truth is we all have just enough strength, smarts and power to make a difference, to be the miracle for someone.
We pass by miracle-workers every day. They're often disguised as ordinary people, teachers, barbers, nurses, secretaries, cashiers, cabdrivers and sheet metal workers like my dad.
People in all walks of life who don't just go to work to bring home a paycheck. People who go to work to make a difference in the lives of others. People who remind us that no one is too small to make a big difference.
One day I was a ball of stress when I stopped to pay for parking at Quaker Square in Akron. The parking lot attendant smiled, greeted me and paused to give me a blessing. He told me this was his ministry, to bless people as they passed through his parking lot.
He made that job his mission in life.
We're all here to matter for others, to be the miracle someone else needs. How do you do that? All you have to do is make a beginning:
How often have you heard people say that? How often have you said it?
In times of trouble or despair, we want someone else to take action, someone stronger, smarter, more powerful than ourselves.
The truth is we all have just enough strength, smarts and power to make a difference, to be the miracle for someone.
We pass by miracle-workers every day. They're often disguised as ordinary people, teachers, barbers, nurses, secretaries, cashiers, cabdrivers and sheet metal workers like my dad.
People in all walks of life who don't just go to work to bring home a paycheck. People who go to work to make a difference in the lives of others. People who remind us that no one is too small to make a big difference.
One day I was a ball of stress when I stopped to pay for parking at Quaker Square in Akron. The parking lot attendant smiled, greeted me and paused to give me a blessing. He told me this was his ministry, to bless people as they passed through his parking lot.
He made that job his mission in life.
We're all here to matter for others, to be the miracle someone else needs. How do you do that? All you have to do is make a beginning:
1. Start where you are.
2. Get busy on the possible.
3. You can make a big difference, no matter how little you make.
4. Magnify the good.
5. Do your best and forget the rest. It could simply be too soon to tell.
6. We all do the same things. It's how we do them that makes the difference.
7. Interruptions are divine assignments.
8. Adjust your own oxygen mask before helping others, or you'll be of no use to anyone-- including you.
9. Instead of treating people the way you want to be treated, treat people the way they want to be treated.
10. If you want to see a miracle, be the miracle.
11. Everyone matters to somebody.
12. Speak up for others, especially when they aren't present to speak up for themselves.
13. Give birth to yourself every day.
14. Sometimes it's enough to make one person happy.
15. The secret of life is no secret. It's sprinkled all over your life.
16. If you can't be the rock, be the ripple.
17. Give as if the world is your family, because it is.
18. Everyone is either your student or your teacher. Most people are both.
19. Pray like you mean it.
20. Arrive early.
21. Dream big.
22. Consult your own soul. Deep inside you already know the answers you need.
23. Get in the game.
24. God doesn't always call the strong. Sometimes you have to be weak enough to serve.
25. When you have nothing but faith, you have enough.
26. Be a good monk. Make your life a prayer.
27. Believe in abundance.
28. Shine your light, no matter how dark the world around you appears.
29. Comfort the sick. When everyone else flees, be the one who stays.
30. You have an endless supply of abundance from a wealthy Father who loves you, and so does everyone else.
31. Carry as you climb.
32. Be an original. Forge your own path.
33. Harness the power of hope.
34. Watch well your words. Practice restraint of tongue and pen.
35. No matter what happens, don't take it personally. Take it spiritually.
36. The world needs your Yes!
37. Empower your power by joining forces.
38. You are a child's most important teacher.
39. What you think about, you bring about.
40. Aim higher.
41. Make someone else's dream come true.
42. Triage.
43. A saint is someone who knows how much God loves them.
44. Don't quit before the miracle happens.
45. Make amends as soon as you can, while you still can.
46. Silence the noise. In times of doubt or indecision, pause and make room for God.
47. To be a channel of peace, you have to stay open.
48. God will not have His work made manifest by cowards.
49. Leave a legacy time can't erase.
50. If you woke up today, God isn't through with you yet.
These 50 lessons are reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing. They appear in Regina Brett's new book, "Be the Miracle: 50 Lessons for Making the Impossible Possible."
© 2012 cleveland.com. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment