The Gift Of A Good Example by Steven Skelley

The Gift Of A Good Example
by Steven Skelley

"The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble," said Blaise Pascal.

I just buried my big sister this week. It was just a few months ago that what she thought was a nasty cold was discovered to be cancer.

We buried her body right next to mom and grandma McWilliams on the hillside in an old, country cemetery in a small town in Ohio. Afterward I sat with my brother and sister and nieces and nephews and we went through old photo albums. I began to see the thread of the tapestry of the family and friends and influences that have affected me over the years.

Tennyson once said, "I am a part of all that I have met."

Morell said, "The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example."

We are all affected by, and we all affect those around us. Sometimes this is a good thing. Sometimes it is not.

What kind of affect did I remember this week? I remembered that no one who spent any amount of time with my sister Sherry could miss that wonderful smile, that goofy sense of humor, that infectious laugh that made everyone else want to laugh also, and that love that she had that was able to look past her own pain and reach out to whoever she was with. There is something very special about someone who can do those things. How many times, even while lying in her hospital bed, did she remove that blasted oxygen mask, fight to catch a breath, and then share some hilarious joke, or an ornery grin, or motion one of us down for a kiss?

There is something very special about the kind of person who can face up to the most devastating circumstances that life can throw at them, circumstances that tempt them to quit, to shrivel up, to become bitter, to give up hope. Many people do give up. Some do not. Some shine from this darkness as examples of what we all should hope to be.

Pascal is right when he says that the entire ocean is affected by even a pebble thrown into it. We have the opportunity in our short time here on planet earth to be a positive influence on those around us, but it takes effort.

Watching my sister reaching out to console others while suffering unimaginably herself taught me more than reading many books could.

This past week, I saw some of the best and worst that people can be and it made me want to work to be a better person.

This next week, let's look at the examples that are everywhere around us. Let's consider the things that influence us and the influence we have on others. Let's imitate the good things and pass them on to someone who can pass them on to someone else. Let's be that pebble tossed into the ocean sending out ripples of goodness to who-knows-where.

This life is our one short chance to make a positive difference in our world.


****Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Hurricanes, Green Day & Tough Times

It has been a devastating month. We've seen another hurricane hit a number of cities and endanger millions of people.

On a more personal note, I received word that a young man whose wedding I had participated in had been killed in Iraq.

People all over the world are suffering in many different ways. One of the worst things about suffering is the feeling of helplessness and loneliness.

"Where is God?" we wonder.

Punk-Pop music group Green Day won nearly a dozen Video Music Awards for their album that contains a song about loneliness called Boulevard Of Broken Dreams.

Take a look at the intense, picturesque images in their words. "I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes but it's home to me and I walk alone. I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone."

"My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me. Till then I walk alone."

Green Day wishes "someone" out there would find them so they don't have to face the world all alone.

Mother Teresa said, "The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."

The Bible's book of Philippians was written by a guy named Paul and it was actually a letter. He writes this letter as he is sitting in jail. He's been beaten, arrested and locked up for telling people about God. Soon, he will be executed for the same reason. Paul had every reason to feel alone. He had every reason to feel that life was unfair. Instead of being lost in despair, Paul writes that he is fine and even joyful. Paul shares his secret with us. He says, "I don't know if I am going to live or die but I am not worried. No matter what happens, live in a way that brings honor to God.

Don't worry about your troubles. Instead, take them all to God in prayer. Tell Him everything. When you do that, He'll give you a peace that is far beyond anything we could ever understand. That peace will soothe your troubled heart and mind. God is near. He's never left you. Choose to think of life's good things.

Put your faith into practice and God's peace will be with you.

Dorothy Bernard said, "Courage is fear that has said its prayers." Life is not always easy. It may seem like we're walking alone on a boulevard of broken dreams. The good news is that we never have to walk alone. God is near. He invites us to talk to Him in prayer. He promises to give us a peace in spite of all that's happening around us even if the thought of being peaceful in hard times seems illogical.

My prayer for you this week is that you'll remember you're not alone.


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Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.