Unified

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to the big differences that we often can not foresee.”

~ Maria Wright Edelman

“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”

~ Anita Roddick

In preparation for a theatrical production, many working hours going to the finished product: actors memorize lines, directors work to solidify the overall vision, and set designers build the idea.  There are so many persons who collaborate to work toward one goal, each with a different gift, a different purpose.  With so many ornaments, so many moving parts, if there is just one person who is missing from the action, the entire company will notice, especially if it means someone else now has to complete their assigned task.

These assigned tasks are unique because everyone has one. Sounds cliché, but not any two are the same and with every performance, it changes slightly, each experience adjusting for the needs of the day.  A tweak here and there will make the duties run ever smoother and the show more seamless than the night before.

In our everyday lives, we are like that. We are placed in situations and held accountable for responsibilities that require us to be present for them to be complete. When we are out of place or not there, we see how strong of an impact it is on our lives and on those in our immediate circles.  We may feel as if we are no longer on the same wavelength, no longer able to be apart of the unit.  But the truth of the matter is that we are noticed in our absences for when we are not in place, we are no longer contributing to the whole. 

We affect so many more than we think, even if the smallest gesture.  It does matter if we are not in the best shape (physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally).  It does matter if we do not take care of ourselves.  It does matter if we are only operating to 75% of our maximum capacity.    1 Corinthians 12:12 reads, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” It does not matter if we stutter, feel ill equipped or have a set back a time or two, we must fulfill our role.

This week, let us consider the strength of our own impact, for giving ourselves fully is the only way to obtain unity.