One of the things small children seem to love to do, is jump into puddles and make a splash. There is a funny video that I have seen of a little girl probably about 2 years old with her pretty pink wellies and she is splashing in the puddle. Her Dad is holding her hand to keep her steady and she is persuading him to join her. The problem is, he doesn’t have wellies, pink or not, and ends up splashing in the puddle in his trainers. If you look closely the little girl must have got water over the top of her wellies but she is not bothered, she’s just having fun with her Dad!
That got me to thinking about the story of an old man and another small child, a boy. They were stood by a large puddle. The old man picked up a large stone and threw it into the puddle. There was a large splash and they both got their clothes wet. They weren’t worried though, they just laughed.
They watched as one ripple after another drifted out across the puddle.
The boy then picked up a handful of gravel and threw that into the puddle. It didn’t make a big splash, but once again lots of little rings rippled out across the puddle.
They then threw a stone in each and watched as the ripples hit each other and made other shapes and patterns.
Life is like that. Everything we do and everything we say is like one of those stones or that handful of gravel. It sends out waves, little signals that affect other people and their lives. Some make a big “splash” others, a small one, but all of us make waves, and those waves affect other people; sometimes for good, sometimes for bad.
So, let us think about what sort of waves we want to make.
Next time you see a big puddle, have some fun, wellies or not, jump in, make a splash and watch the ripples!
Prayer
Gracious and loving Father, you hold our hand to keep us steady. Be with us, laugh with us, get wet with us, and may the ripples that our actions make, bring joy and laughter to those around us.
Amen