“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of a continent, a part of the main.” ~John Donne
I recently reread Mary Stewart’s novel, My Brother Michael, and this quote of Donne’s comes up throughout the story as the narrator ponders how every person is connected to someone or some place in some way. I’ve been pondering this, and thinking of the people in my life who have impacted me, and who I have impacted. I wonder what a visual image of all of those connections would look like. Wouldn’t that be fascinating? How many people have touched your life in ways you don’t even know or remember? What kind of impact have you had on others? Honestly, I don’t think an image could contain the globe…and that’s for any one of us, no matter how limited are our lives.
There are times when I think about how small my current physical sphere is. It’s not an unusual one—I’m a wife and mom, so I have immediate connections within my immediate family. I have my homeschool community and church family, and connections through LeTourneau. I have neighbors, and the people I run into around town. In each of these places, there are many people I don’t know—certainly many more than I’ve had some kind of contact with.
I have other connections over distance who have touched my life or whom I’ve touched. My extended family is primary, of course, and that’s counting those who have passed on as well as those on earth. There are the very tangential connections with old friends kept up through social media, or the stronger connections I have through my online writing community of The Habit, many of whom I’ve been able to meet in person. Then there’s the Rabbit Room and friends and acquaintances from that community whom I’ve known for up to fifteen years now. In the past couple years I’ve met more people because of my books (and have touched others I don’t know who have read the books), and this newsletter has connected me to some who have known my family or Kraig’s for years, as well as some folks I’ve never met.
It’s a little mind-blowing once I start to contemplate this kind of interconnectedness. My one small life has been touched by and has touched innumerable other lives for better or for worse. That’s a sobering thought, too, because I can say without doubt that I’ve messed up with people whom I’ve connected with, knowingly and unknowingly. I have failed to speak up when I could have said something to help, and I have said the wrong thing or the hurtful thing other times…. It’s painful when I recall the known mess-ups; I don’t think I could handle the burden of the full scope. Thank God—literally—that he’s aware of all of those and has his hand on those other lives as much as he has his hand on mine. I’m thankful that unlike me, he can see the whole picture, and not just the big picture but every minuscule part of each of us. Not only that, he loves each one of us so much that he gave his life to save us from all the horrible parts of ourselves, and when we give ourselves to him—let him impact our lives—he can take those flaws, failings, and mess-ups and transform them into beauty and healed connections. That’s another mind-blowing thought.
There are times I feel guilty that I’m not getting out there more and touching more lives, times I think I should be making a bigger difference. There is so much pain and sorrow in the world, and lots of people who are struggling. There is confusion and fear, and at times I wish I could speak up and say something or do something that would give people I don’t know hope, or point them to Christ. But I am here in this place right now, and I’m understanding better that I am most effective if I live faithfully where I am, and as honestly and wholly as I am able to by God’s grace. It’s encouraging to remember that my life has been touched by thousands, and my life has touched others simply because our paths have crossed in some way. It’s quite possible that someone I’ve connected with is connected to someone who is helping alleviate some of those sorrows I can’t resolve. I can be thankful for that.
Art for the week
A little Fishtsticks and Remington from Evie. Sometimes it helps to see the whole picture.
I’ve Got a Bad Case of Poetry Kickstarter now open!
I am so excited about this fabulous anthology of poetry for kids that Bandersnatch Books is hoping to put out in the world! Every time I turn around I find out another friend has poems that will be featured in it—and they are such good writers! If you’ve never backed a Kickstarter, basically it means you are helping make this project a reality—and you’ll get your own book through it. You can find out more about it here. This project will run until March 11.
Rachel Donahue and Carolyn Givens talk more about the book in this episode of The Banderpod—you can hear a couple of the poems at the end!
Check out Daughter of Arden at Bandersnatchbooks.com, along with other great titles.
You can find links to more of my writing at A Shaft of Sun Through the Rain and my old blog, Willing, Wanting, Waiting.
This is such an encouraging reminder, Loren. I too wince at the thought of times I know I messed up - and then wince more deeply when I contemplate the number of times I caused hurt or other issues without knowing it! So thankful that the Lord can redeem all of it and make it into something beautiful.
It is staggering when we stop to think about it. I used to when I taught high school. Some of students were very lost people. I would sometimes actively choose to be kind to that student who never turned in an assignment, the one with a juvenile record, on the off chance that I was the only adult who wasn’t yelling and angry. I liked to think that in some small way that kindness counted on some level. I probably won’t know on this side of Heaven.
It is sometimes harder with the day in and day out relationships. The family member who wants to be estranged, the people with whom I have little in common but I am related by blood or marriage. I hope that my connections there are positive, even we I am not feeling that way. I really love The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It isn’t my usual type of book, but the heart of the book and the concept that the most important connections may be the ones you aren’t aware of was an amazing concept.