When I was a little girl, I decided that I wanted to change the world. I craved adventure, and to me, changing the world sounded like one big, grand adventure. It sounded like rescuing orphans overseas or feeding those who didn't have anything to eat. It sounded like traveling through the jungles of Africa or doing some wonderful, noble deed. It sounded like standing in front of thousands and signing hundreds of books. My desire to change the world did indeed send me off on a grand adventure...but it was definitely not an adventure like I had imagined. There was no big stage to stand on. There was no running through the jungles of Africa (yet, of course). There were no big, noble deeds recognized by the world. But on my adventure to change my world, I learned what changing my world truly meant. You see, I always thought that changing the world looked like all those big things. I thought that to make my life count, I had to impact thousands. When I was thirteen years old, I fought for my passions and I did everything I could to impact as many lives as possible. At that age, I decided that one day I would write a book. A book that I wanted God to use to change the world. I imagined this book being in stores around the world and being read by thousands of people. I thought surely then, I would be changing the world. But to write a book about changing the world, I had to actually first do something worthy of writing about, right? And on that journey I realized this beautiful truth... My life was like a candle. And to change the world I must simply focus on lighting the next candle beside me. I must focus on one precious candle at a time. For if I tried with all of my might to light as many candles as I could, as quickly as possible, I would end up missing the point, and in my rush...my own candle would stop shining so brightly. But if I lit one candle at a time? And then they lit one candle at a time? The light would spread so much faster than I could've spread it on my own. That was the beautiful truth I discovered on my quest to change the world. Changing the world didn't always look like walking through jungles or ending world poverty or completing all those wonderful, noble deeds I once thought it was. And a whole lot of times, changing the world didn't really look like the grand adventures I once thought. But it was still a grand adventure. It was the grand adventure of loving the next person in front of me. Of cleaning as many dishes as I could until the kitchen looked fresh and nice. The adventure of taking my sister out for donuts at midnight or staying up late to talk a friend through a hard time. The adventure of serving God in all the beautiful, behind-the-scenes, or in-front-of-an-audience, ways that He had for me to serve. It was the adventure of writing that book I always thought I would write. A book that I released to the world in hopes that I could encourage just one life...that I could tell just one life of the wonderful adventure God had waiting for them to live. A book that I did watch God use to impact many lives for His glory. Friend, your life, too, is a candle. And changing your world looks a whole lot like lighting the candles around you one flame at a time. Don't become distracted by trying to light as many as you can that you miss the one in front of you. Changing the world is an adventure. Maybe not the adventure you always hope for, but it's still going to be beautiful. Keep lighting the world around you, one candle at a time. After all...that's what world-changers do. Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 marked three years since I published my very first book, "I Dare You: Finding Your Passion and Lighting Your World." Have you read my book? What was something that encouraged you about it? How do you view changing your world?
Bella,
Bella Morganthal
7/4/2018 05:48:50 pm
Abigail, you truly are such a bright light <3 So grateful God led you to my space on the internet. Thankful for your kind spirit :)
Thank you for writing this post. It's honestly something I've been debating on writing a blog post on too. A couple thoughts... Comments are closed.
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