By Joe Mazzella
I have been making some dietary changes recently to better my health and hopefully live longer. I want to be here to care for my two special needs sons for as long as I am physically able. That means switching to whole grains, cutting back on sugars, and eating more of the fats that are good for you and less of the fats that are bad for you.
This, however, left me with some boxes of pasta and rice that I couldn’t use anymore so I decided to take them over to donate to a local food pantry. My daughter added a lot of things that were just sitting in her pantry as well. When I arrived I lifted the huge bag up and put it on the desk of the lady in charge of the pantry. She thanked me over and over again. It seemed clear that while the pantry was well-stocked she didn’t get many individual donations. Most came from huge stores in big trucks. And while that was great it made me wonder why more people didn’t donate the extra food or clothes they had.
I don’t think that it was because people weren’t good or kind or giving or loving. I see the evidence of their love every single day. I think rather some people have become discouraged because the problems and needs of this world seem so great. They don’t think that they can make a difference. That is why the food pantry lady was so shocked when I came in with our bag of food. It surprised her that I was just doing what I could, with what I had, where I was.
Don’t let the problems of this world make you feel helpless. You are a bigger force for good in this world than you know. You can make a difference every single day. You can help God to make this world a better, more loving place. Do what you can then, with what you have, where you are. Like a pebble thrown in a pond every act of love, kindness, and giving you do will ripple out in waves of joy and will touch the souls of more people than you can ever imagine.
