Ripples in the water

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Do you know how much power you have to affect the lives of others? 

Depending on how your day is going, you may see yourself as powerless, or too easily affected by the words, attitudes, or actions of other people. Or you may be all too aware that the decisions you make - in parenting, in friendship or a romantic relationship, in the workplace - can make a dramatic difference for those around you.

Image courtesy of zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In recent years, the recognition of interdependence and connectedness among all people and all living things has become regarded as more than just a feel-good statement of philosophy or spirituality; it is affirmed in arenas as diverse as physics, biology, politics, and psychology. From the "butterfly effect" (a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world sets off a chain reaction that leads to a tsunami around the globe) to the ripples created by a small stone being thrown into a pond, the natural world is full of images that demonstrate the far-reaching effects of small, simple actions. The truth is that all of us have more influence than we realize, both on the people who are physically close by and on those we may never meet.

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 

- 1 John 3:18

 One of the blessings of a movement like Imagine No Malaria is that it offers a concrete and meaningful way to harness the energy of interdependence, to turn good intentions into actions that can literally heal people and save lives. If you spend $10 on lunch or a movie ticket, you may or may  not remember how you spent the money a year from now. But if you give that same $10 to pay for the cost of an insecticide-treated bed net, you're helping keep a family of four safe from malaria-spreading mosquito bites for up to five years.

That's five years when children are in school regularly and parents don't have to miss work, when there are no unexpected and arduous trips on foot to a clinic ten or twenty miles away to seek treatment. And of course, bed nets are only one part of the story; your $10 (or $25, or $100, or...?) could help provide rapid diagnostic kits or life-saving medication for a clinic or hospital; larger gifts can help train and support community health workers who visit villages to build relationships, assess the need, and explain the importance of bed nets and prompt treatment of symptoms; initiate radio programs that raise public awareness of malaria prevention and treatment; or much more.

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he [or she] sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

- Robert F. Kennedy

What kind of ripples are you sending out into the world this week? Would you consider some small action - telling a friend or church group about Imagine No Malaria, making a donation, calling your Congressperson to support continued global health funding - to help save the lives of children and pregnant women who are most vulnerable to malaria? If you're not sure where to start, the Lenten devotional booklet compiled by INM staff has some great suggestions for simple actions you can take, each Friday during Lent. Together, we can make a difference.


P. S. You can donate now (or at any time) at the Rocky Mountain Conference website - enter the amount you wish to give in the Imagine No Malaria box, and at the bottom of the screen, choose whether you want to give once, weekly, or monthly. Or you can give directly through Imagine No Malaria; just make sure to indicate which church, district, or conference you want to receive credit.