“Finding Significance” by Donna Jackson
Today we are pleased to share these encouraging words first posted by Donna Jackson at Perfection Road on March 3, 2020.
When your heart’s desires center around doing something significant with your life, how will you know when you’ve succeeded?
How significant is significant enough?
For the last two years, I have watched my man care for his elderly parents. He would not consider his acts of loving kindness to be world-changing. However, the love he’s demonstrated and the frustration he has endured have not only taught me a great deal about how to love others, but they also remind me how blessed I am to have him love me and our family with the same steadfastness.
Yesterday, we kept Callie, our six-month-old granddaughter, who was running a fever and feeling pretty lousy. Ron walked the floor with her for a bit while her tiny hand wrapped around his man-sized finger. Later, he confessed that tender moment reminded him of another one with his dad. Just a week or so before his dad went to be with Jesus, he had asked Ron to hold his hand. The roles reversed. Ron had become his source of strength.
Ron went on to say that having Callie wrap her fingers around his was “sort of a circle-of-life kind of thing.” Then, after a moment of quiet hesitation, he softly added, “That’s the way it is with Jesus. We always have Him to hold onto.”
Some of us will humbly and courageously do great things for God in big, bold, public arenas. Most of us will not. But, I’ve come to realize that it’s those thousands of small victories that add up to a few great ones. Perhaps our greatest victories are not newsworthy, but never doubt they are profound.
Truly meaningful platforms rise out of the ashes of charred lives that have been resurrected. I write about my ashes to remind myself how far the love of God traveled to reach me. I write about the grace that washed those ashes away so that my grandchildren will one day realize that it can and will do the same for them. I write about my new life in the Spirit so that you and anyone who takes the time to read my words will comprehend the joy and peace that can be found.
So, how significant is significant enough?
If you still have parents living, live in such a way that you will have no regrets.
If you have a spouse, love him or her with all your heart, and let them know it.
If you have children (or grandchildren), sit with them, read to them, speak life to them, listen to them, and most of all, let them see you loving God and people (especially their other parent).
Spend time with your friends. Listen to their stories, and tell them yours. Become the kind of friend you would like to have.
Nothing else you accomplish will create a life of such profound significance and success. These things will linger for generations to come! It’s sort of a circle-of-life kind of thing. Whenever you feel like giving up and letting go, remember, Jesus is always glad to be your source of strength. You always have Him to hold onto.
“For this is what the Lord says – the Creator of the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, the one who established it … he says, ‘I am the Lord, and there is no other. I will be the same until your old age, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will bear and rescue you.’”
Isaiah 45:18; 46:4
Praise God for the rescue!
~ Written by Donna Jackson ~
Donna Jackson worships with Church of the Highlands in Huntsville, Alabama, but enjoys her coffee and home in the picturesque community of Grant. She and Ron, her husband of 40 years, have two married children and five grandchildren who absolutely delight their days. However, nothing thrills Donna’s heart more than to watch the Spirit do His thing through her writing and speaking. She gives God all the credit for helping her write. Donna would love to connect with you through her blog Perfection Road at perfectionroad.com.
One Comment
Beautiful!!!