what difference does it make?

There are times when I have these great profound thouths and feelings, but I have the most difficult time putting them into words. This is one of those times, and I'm just not sure what I want to say. It's kind of lie there is a whole level of understanding, that goes on above and beyond words. You know what I mean?

Well here goes nothing:

There are times when we may think "what difference doest it make?" Does it really matter if you are kind just this once? Is opening the door really that important this time? Is sponsoring just one kid over in Africa really gonna matter all that much? These kinds of questions can go spinning around forhours, and you can look at the bigger picture and see that they really don't mean a whole lot.

Well let me tell yo something: you may be looking at the bigger picture, but you are definitely not seeing the whole picture. Let me give you an example. It is pulled from a religious experience, but it is widely applicable.

There was an LDS missionary who worked hard and diligently on his mission, every day for two years. He did the very best that he could, but the whole time, he didn't baptize a single person. He felt like a failure. Years later, someone who had known this missionary went back to the towns that he served, and met with the people this missionary had taught. He made a record of all of the people who had been baptized because of his influence, and the people baptized because of their influence, and so on. I just a matter of years after this young man had completed his mission and returned home, thousands of people had been baptized because of his influence.
He had worked so hard, with all of his heart, might, mind and strenght, and yet he felt like he was going nowhere, like what's the point? But he continued. He came home feeling like a failure. But he led to the conversion of thousands of people, and led them to find something that made them happy. And that was just in a twenty years or so. His influence is still expanding today, all because he was constant and never gave up.

So even when you feel like what's the point, don't stop doing the right the, making people smile, helping people out. Because it may not see like it makes a lot of difference, but really, it can have all the difference in the world.
So I send out my thanks and appreciation to all those who participated in TOMS day without shoes today. Walking withiout shoes may not seem to make all that much difference, but a few years down the road, it may just have improved the lives of thousands, or millions of people, indirectly.
We may not see the effects immediately, or at all sometimes, but they are there. So again I say, don't give up. Never quite. Keep on keepin' on. Do the right thing, be polite, be helpful. Love your brother, and most of all smile.

YOU and make a world of difference.