I have a friend who writes to me from time to time. He has lived a long life and gone through many hardships and struggles. Now he is dealing with health issues that have left him tired and depressed. He ended his last letter to me with this question: “Does anything we do in this life really make a difference?”

When I read those words my mind suddenly flashed back to last summer. My youngest son had accidentally broken a window in our house and I had taken it to the only place I knew that replaced window panes. While the guy worked on getting the glass cut I walked across the street to a store for a snack. I walked back and stopped at the corner to check for traffic.

Suddenly, I noticed a teenage boy walking with his head looking down at his cell phone. He was texting someone and heading right into the street. I reached out as he passed me, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back just as a car zoomed by us. He looked so shocked to see what had happened. He apologized and humbly thanked me. I smiled back and gently reminded him to keep his feet from walking while his thumbs were typing.

I didn’t give that moment a second thought until I read my friend’s letter. Then it occurred to me that if I hadn’t reacted in that moment a lifetime of love might have been lost. I quickly wrote back to my friend and shared the story with him. Then I wrote this: “Everything we do in this life makes a difference. Every back we pat, every act of kindness we preform, every encouraging word we say, and every listening ear we lend makes a profound impact in the lives of others. We are all far more powerful than we realize.”

God loves us all so much and God gives us this glorious life to live and to love. Use yours to make a difference today!

Joseph J. Mazzella