The story is told of a devout young man whose car broke down, forcing him to make his way to his place of worship on foot. As he walked, he passed an area of startling poverty, where destitute people lined the streets, struggling to fi nd shelter; troubled and angry individuals wandered the streets. The depressing scene fi lled him with a sense of hopelessness. In his despair, he offered a prayer to God. In a voice both pleading and questioning, he said, “How can You allow all this suffering and do nothing?”

Then someone behind him whispered, “He didn’t do nothing. He made you.” At once the young man realised that he could be God’s hands. He could help a troubled world or at least a troubled individual. At times it can be easy to relate to the helplessness this young man felt, because we certainly do live in a world of turmoil. Society’s problems seem so immense, and we seem so small. Too often, we conclude that there is nothing we can do and we consequently do nothing. What we need is the gentle reminder this young man received: that we can be the instruments of constructive change. As one infl uential leader put it: “God does
notice us, and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other.” Think for a moment of someone who made a difference in your life. Maybe it was a family member, a friend, a coach, a teacher, a neighbour.

It may even have happened a long time ago, but you still remember and cherish that person’s infl uence upon you. A young teenage boy thinks of a football coach who saw his potential, cared about him, and told him not to quit. A girl thinks of a teacher who helped her believe she was smart and could succeed in school.

A new father thinks of a brother who encouraged him through the challenges of parenthood. A middle-aged woman thinks of a neighbour who reached out to her during a heartbreaking time of loss. A thousand other examples could be given of simple moments when the right person at the right time made a big difference in someone else’s life. A song from the Lerner and Loewe musical Brigadoon pays tribute to the influence one person can have on the life of another: I saw a man with his head bowed low.
His heart had no place to go. I looked and I thought to myself with a sigh: There but for you go I. . . . Lonely men around me, trying not to cry, Till the day you found me, there among them was I.

It’s humbling to think what our lives might be like without those earthly angels who spread goodness and kindness along life’s pathway. They come into our lives at crucial times to set an example, to give us counsel or encouragement, or simply to be a loyal friend when we need one the most. Without them, we know we would not be quite the same. All around us are people who need that kind of friend, people “with their heads bowed low,” whose people with a highly developed sense of responsibility. While pessimists and optimists argue whether a glass is half-empty or half-full, the volunteer sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.”

Each of us can try to do something. We can volunteer our time in our communities, at a school or library, a hospital or care centre. In a hundred ways, small and not so small, we can open our hearts to whose hearts have “no place to go.” Now could be someone’s crucial moment, when just the right words or even just the right warmth of friendship might make a difference. To them, you can be the right person at the right time. We recognise and give thanks to those among us who are willing to help others, those who volunteer their time and talents, those who sacrifice in some way for the betterment of the human family.

One insightful observer noted, “In a world continually ripped by massive calamities, we … need an auxiliary corps of volunteers, ordinary citizens who willingly undergo discomfort and danger to help fellow humans. Volunteers are special others, down the street or around the world. Volunteering and helping build love and relationships, renew our faith in the goodness of people, and change our attitude and sense of well-being.

We were made with a purpose, and that purpose is to do something for others, to help and bless those in need, and thereby to make a difference in the world. Most often it doesn’t take much change of perspective that can lead to a change of heart, a willingness to accept our part in making things better, a simple desire to help others and look for the good. That positive energy and action can truly change the world in the way most real change happens: one person at a time.

By Samuel Enos Eghan