Are You Making A Difference?

Today I am linking up with my dear friends Kalyn and Lauren.
I LOVE the link up that they do. They always present questions that you can discuss - ones that you would bring up and talk to a friend about over coffee. 
Today's questions are:"What does it mean to you to have made a difference in this world? What are you doing to achieve that change and is it possible to do?"
These are some really deep questions. I know from watching my parents grow older, that these questions become more frequent in your mind as years pass.
Around my dad's 40th birthday, he would constantly ask himself and our family if we really thought he had made a difference with his life. This is surely a common way to feel with the billions of people on the earth. Can one person make a difference? I think it is so important to realize and embrace that each one of us has the potential and ability to make a difference in the lives of those around us on a daily basis. Yes, maybe you aren't making headline news and you won't be written about in a history book, but I guarantee you leave an impact and an impression on the people you come face to face with every day.
There are certain people who have made an impact on me throughout my life. My fifth grade teacher, who was kind to me when I had few friends. She would always show interest in my life and encourage me. The boy who kept asking me to go to Campus Crusade when I was a freshman in college - even though I continuously shut him down for over a year because I was so lost in my faith. The doctor who took me in as his patient, when I had just had a miscarriage, and was scared of losing my second pregnancy.
All of these people played huge roles in my life over the years - and most of them have no idea the type of impact they had. Whether it was encouraging my spirit, getting me to turn back to God, or giving me peace throughout my pregnancy...they all meant something huge to me.
This is what I think about every day. I take part in other people's stories all the time. A simple gesture, a kind word, going out of my comfort zone and trying to witness to someone...all these things may have lasting impacts on the people who are around me, whether I realize it or not.
Do I know if I am making a huge difference every day? No. But I can live my life hoping that I am. I have seen this even through my blog. Sharing my heart or difficult things I have gone through has touched other women who have experienced similar things. We have connected and we have encouraged each other. I know this is true because just this week I received 4 emails from girls I encouraged after I posted about my miscarriage earlier this spring. They all were struggling to get pregnant or had also lost a pregnancy. In their joy, they emailed me, thanking me for talking with them, and sharing the news that they too, are now expecting. Things like that bring so much happiness to my heart and make me realize that taking those 15 or 20 minutes to email each one of them back months ago, made enough of an impact that they wanted to share their good news with me all this time later.
You ARE making a difference in people's lives...even if you don't realize it.

Check out one of the sweetest ladies I know, Mallory: