Friday; August 28

On January 24, 1848 a guy named James Wilson Marshall found a few flakes of gold in California’s American River near John Sutter’s Mill. This may not sound like news; but this seemingly insignificant discovery made a substantial difference in the history of the United States. When people back east heard about the discovery, there was a westward migration that resulted in what has been called California’s Gold Rush. Not only did the discovery change the landscape of California, it left its footprint (or more accurately, its wagon trails) all over the western half of the continent.

I share this for more than a history lesson, I point it out to remind us that sometimes small things can have a huge impact. Just as Marshall’s discovery of an insignificant amount of gold influenced millions of people, so can other gems we find. No, I am not talking about valuable minerals, I am talking about positive character traits. When we publicly identify qualities such as peace, love, forgiveness and tolerance in people’s lives we can begin a ripple of positivity that can cascade into paradigm shift. When we look for and praise the good being done by people, we can turn the tide of negativism and recreate a landscape of support and unity.

While this might seem like a longshot, I want us to think back to Sutter’s Mill and imagine how far-fetched it would have seemed on that day for John Marshall’s discovery to change the nation. One discovery led to others looking … which led to others searching … which led to others moving … which led to others dreaming and on and on and on. This process shows that significant change begins with one person finding something special and announcing the discovery. Generations ago, the Apostle Paul challenged us to rethink our world by writing, “… whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8).
Are we ready to reverse the modern trends? It begins with one of us finding something special and letting the world know about it!

Think About It!

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