We were just about the only ones there. We had gone to the post pool, but this Kansas spring has been pretty cool. Most people were not crazy enough to jump in the pool just yet. We were that crazy, plus two other little girls.

It was a great evening. We had the run of the pool. The water on top looked like glass, calm and cool, till somebody jumped in. It only took one jump in to make a difference in the pool. As I watched others jumping in, I noticed something. A few of them tried a cannonball–you know, making as big a splash as possible–and the others just hopped of the side or dove in.

Regardless of how they jumped in or how big the splash was, the ripples from them jumping in would still go all the way to the edge of the pool.

Summer time brings many transitions in our military world. Whether we are moving somewhere or people are coming and going while we stay put, things are changing. All of these changes can make me weary. I think to myself, “I just made new friends, do I really have to make some again?”

We are at Fort Leavenworth these days. With Command and General Staff College (CGSC) here, summer time is a HUGE moving season. With about 1200 families moving out of the area by mid-June and another 1500 moving in by late July, my introverted-self is a little intimidated. We are permanent party which means we get the opportunity to watch all the moving trucks come and go and then come again to bring new friends.

I will be honest with you–my heart is not always excited about the new folks. I have to mentally prepare for the influx and then jump in regardless of how I feel.

Jump in.

That’s exactly what crossed my mind at the pool.

I have thought for so long that I need to “go big or go home.” I noticed at the pool, though, that the ripples reach the edge of the pool regardless of the splash made when they entered. I believe our lives are the same way. Life is not about the biggest splash, but simply the fact that we jumped in. We make a difference because we stepped out there.

Funny thing is the people who jumped in the pool could not see the ripples go all the way to the edge. From the vantage point of the deck, I could. What an encouragement to me. Everybody that jumped in made ripples that traveled far, but could not see their impact from their point of view.

Life is so much like that.

We jump in and make a difference (large or small), but sometimes we never actually see the difference we make. God does. Others may even see it, but the point is that we are faithful, willing to step out even when we are not so sure we want to.

I have been reading about the story of David and Goliath lately (1 Samuel 17). David stepped out there when nobody else wanted to and the difference he made was amazing. It has challenged my heart. As I watch the moving trucks bringing in the next round of folks and my neighborhood is completely different than it was a couple of months ago, I need to step out too.

The water might be cold and I may feel like I make no difference at all, but God can do great things with a little bit of faithfulness. So I challenge you with the same thing God challenged me.

Jump in.

It doesn’t have to be a cannonball, we just have to step in, even if our heart is weary.

God has a plan and a purpose for the place where we are, and the ripples can go quite far. 

Join me, won’t you? Let’s be brave in this season of transition and know that whether we see the difference we make or not, God is still working in and through us. He simply wants us to be faithful.

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