Make Ripples

"God chose the weak things" - 1 Corinthians 1:27

The story's told of Elzeard Bouffier, a 55 year old widower who lived in a French village in 1910, surrounded by poverty and despair. So, he did something.....He collected acorns - thousands of them and planted the acorns throughout the area. When they took root, he cultivated beeches. When they became saplings, he planted birches.

One day, amidst the death and devastation of World War I, a mysterious grey mist appeared on the horizon. It was the oaks of 1910, below them the adolescent beeches, and below them - the tiny birch seedlings. Bouffier kept planting, and at the end of World War II, French environmentalists announced that a "natural forest" had "mysteriously" sprung up, flourishing amidst it's barren surroundings.

The story doesn't end there. The forest started a chain reaction. Water flowed in brooks that had dried up. The wind scattered seeds and willows, rushes and meadows and gardens sprang up. People came to live there, bringing with them hope of peace.

Elzeard Bouffier found acorns, planted them - and God did the rest.

God can do much with little. Look at what He did for David with a sling and a stone. Watch Him feed 5000 with a boy's lunch. Why couldn't He do the same for us?

Our lives are like a pebble - it may not look like much, but drop it into a pond and watch the ripples spread in every direction. Everyday we live, we have 3 options:

(A.) Think only of yourself and your own interests.
(B.) Since success doesn't come without the possibility of failure, take no risks and go no further.
(C.) Ask God to show you what you've got, then use it to make ripples.