Category Archives: Things That Inspire

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10/14/2011

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Things That Inspire

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Do You Know the Moped Man?

There’s a guy who drives up and down my street on a yellow moped. I first encountered him when I was out walking last year. He beeped and waved, shouted something unintelligible and swerved back and forth. Needless to say, it was a little unnerving.

The moped man knows where I live. He recognizes my car. At first, I was frightened that he was privy to such details, but considering he’s known for over a year and has yet to abuse that privilege, he doesn’t scare me anymore. In fact, he’s one of those people who never fails to make my day. And all he has to do is drive past my house on his yellow moped.

He always wears a helmet, but I saw his face for the first time the other day. He was driving a suburban, but I knew it was him from the beep and the wave. And I thought to myself, “I could die happy now.” That’s how much joy I get from this guy I really don’t even know.

And I think that’s why God put the moped man on the fringes of my life: to bring joy in the midst of the mundane.

Sunday afternoon, I was driving home from church when I spotted three teenage boys on the sidewalk. They were waving at a car up ahead and, at first, I thought they knew the driver. But then they waved at the next car and the next, and I realized that they were simply searching for a response. I thought of the moped man – of the simplest things that bring pleasure – and I waved back. The boys erupted in smiles, fists raised high in victory.

And that’s when I realized it… Though I was probably the fifth car that passed, I was the first that evoked the victory fists. Meaning I was the first to wave back. I wonder if I was the only one who ever waved back.

And to think that my one, simple gesture could have been the thing that made those boys’ day like the moped man makes mine.

So go ahead and smile at the people around you. Wave at those passing by. You never know how much joy the simplest gesture can bring.

“Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.”

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06/01/2011

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Things That Inspire

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When God Says “Pray”

All was quiet in the Snyder house. I was just about to drift off to sleep when my eyes flew open and my spirit was convicted to pray for Tony. Tony was a friend – more of an acquaintance, actually – whom I hadn’t seen since he had moved a good six months earlier. But it was the middle of the night, and I was inclined to pray. So I did.

Tony’s face haunted me for more than a week, often at the most inconvenient times. I’d be guiding a string of preschoolers down the crowded hall of a church. “Pray.” I’d be fixing a late lunch for my siblings. “Pray.” I’d be lining up the perfect pool shot. “Pray.”  Though I thought the persistent urge to pray was getting a tad bit ridiculous, I prayed.

A year later, I stumbled across Tony’s mom on facebook. I shot her a message to ask how life was going and part of her reply sent a holy tremor down my spine. Tony had been in an accident last June. June was the month I couldn’t get him off my mind.

It struck me that I could have been lying in bed praying for Tony the very night he rolled his truck. My frantic prayers could have empowered the angels who spared his life that night. I suddenly realized that the entire time I was praying, Tony was lying in a hospital bed, recovering from a near death experience.

Let me tell you, a message like that will make you think twice the next time God puts someone on your heart. So, of course, when I was unable to read the other night because I couldn’t get a certain face out of my mind, I set the book aside and began to pray. Though I may never know the reasons behind this particular prayer, I think of Tony… and how God divinely touches the hearts of His children when another is in need. And so I pray.

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05/20/2011

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The Impact of One

Throughout my middle and high school years, I exchanged letters with a girl who is several years older than me. She made a huge impact on my life, guiding me through the tough times those years presented. I don’t think she’s aware of the full aspect of her influence. Sometimes, I don’t think I’m aware myself. But there was one thing I knew all those years ago: I wanted the opportunity to pay it forward. I prayed that I would one day be able to be that person for someone else.

Well, God sent me not one, but two younger girls with whom I’m in consistent communication. And as I wrote the one girl last night, I couldn’t help thinking: This is all because of Faith. Had she not taken me under her wing ten years ago, I probably wouldn’t be writing Lauren and Ariel. And who knows where Faith got the idea to write me. So in a roundabout kind of way, Faith has an influence on these two girls that she doesn’t even know.

I think life works that way more often than we realize. Sometimes the things we do for the benefit of one person carry farther than we’ll ever know. Often it’s the little things that we don’t think truly matter that have the greatest impact on a person’s life. And while you may not ever see the fruit of your labor, you’re touching more people than you know.

So keep persevering in the little things. You never know how many lives may be touched by the impact of one.

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01/01/2011

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Lessons From a Squirrel

I sat in a coffee shop today and watched a squirrel dash back and forth across the parking lot, gathering treasures to bury in the flowerbed. Back and forth he ran, repeating the same mundane task. I wondered if the squirrel ever tired of doing this. Or perhaps the small creature is more content with his current position than I’ve been lately. See, I’ve been feeling a lot like that squirrel. Life has become so mundane, so routine. I haven’t really felt like “living the journey” these past few weeks, and nothing has been able to penetrate this thick wall of “blah.” Nothing, that is, but this squirrel.

Somehow I get the idea that the squirrel wasn’t thinking about much else but the task at hand. I don’t think it’s because he’s a little creature who wasn’t blessed with the brains we humans have. I think it was because, unlike most humans, this little squirrel knew his place in life, and he was content to do what he had been created to do.

Sometimes I have to wonder what I was created to do. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really doing the right thing, or if I’ll ever end up where I’m supposed to be. Part of me wants to cling to that fairytale mentality that says, “Well, of course dreams come true,” while the other part of me is discouraged because those dreams seem so far away.

Today, I needed a squirrel to remind me that I should be content with the here and now. Just as the squirrel stored things up for the future, my life now is preparation for the years to come. So it’s about time for me to take a deep breath and remind myself to live the journey, knowing that God knows what He is doing with my life here and now.

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12/17/2010

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Who’s Mentoring Who?

Towards the beginning of this year, a friend of mine approached me and asked if I would be willing to step out with her and start a Bible study for some of the high school girls at our church. Since that age group had been on my heart for quite some time, I was eager to accept her challenge. Since that moment, I’ve grown rather attached to this small group of girls. Today I’ve been watching the development of a debate on one of their facebook pages. One girl posted a note that was apparently controversial – at least to this person who didn’t believe that Jesus actually belongs in Christmas as her note suggested. I found her scriptural responses stirring feelings of pride in my chest that somewhat resembled a mother watching her baby learn to walk.

I wanted to let her know how insanely proud of her I was in that moment, so I sent her a message that told her what I felt. She wrote back thanking me for the encouragement, and shared the verse that had encouraged her in the midst of this debate. She then quoted Matthew 10:16-22 where Jesus talks about sending His disciples out as sheep among wolves and how He will give them the words to say when they are brought before governors and kings.

Yep. Mother watching her baby learn to walk. Except my precious little one just sprouted wings. One day, I’m going to lose this mentality that I’m the one who’s doing the teaching, because I’m often floored by those I think I’m ministering to. Children have taught me more than I’ve ever taught them, and now I have this teenager who is suddenly wise beyond her years. I guess it’s because Jesus did what He promised in Matthew 10. He gave her the words she needed to say, and she allowed the Father to speak through her lips. (Or, in this case, her fingers.)

Sometimes I simply have to wonder… Who’s mentoring who?