Sometimes we don’t realize the impact we can have with our words and actions.

Gabriel climbed in the van after school last Friday and wasn’t his usual happy self. There is a group of six boys that he hangs out with and apparently one of the boys was having a birthday party that night and Gabriel was the only boy not invited.

If the sound of this mama’s heart breaking could be heard outside of my chest, the noise would have filled the car.

Oh how I want to protect him from hurts like this.

And it reminded me of a similar story with a different ending several years ago.

Isaac, our oldest, was 7 and wanted to have his first birthday party.

He had a class with mostly boys that year and when I asked him who he wanted to invited he gave me a list. I recognized that he had invited almost all of the boys…but there were a few names left out.

We had a conversation and I told him that I really felt like he should invite ALL the boys.

He said that there were a few boys he didn’t really get along with and he didn’t really want to invite them….but I told him that if he didn’t like them, the feeling may be mutual and they likely wouldn’t show – so invite them anyways.

I felt strongly that I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Inviting all the boys would eliminate that possibility.

The invitations went out and I planned for a party.

10 out of the 14 boys came that Saturday afternoon.

It was loud, they spilled on my carpet and Dominic entertained them with dry ice. Stressful but fun, and totally worth it.

Parents started arriving to pick up their kids as the party ended and one mother approached me.

I didn’t know a lot of the parents but she came over to thank me for inviting her son.  She said that he had not ever been invited to a birthday party before. He was so excited to be included that he went to bed the night before wearing his best church clothes.

He didn’t want to chance missing out on the party.

I won’t ever forget that conversation. It choked me up then and still does today.

He and Isaac never became best friends….but for that day, in his best church clothes, he felt special and included.

THAT is what matters friends.

Doing the little things that make such a profound impact.

I don’t know why Gabriel wasn’t invited to that party. I told him that maybe the mom only had enough room for 5 kids total in their car…..would 1 more have been too much? 🙁

When I shared the story about Isaac’s party and how I felt it was so important to do our best to include everyone for that very reason, Gabriel understood and said he doesn’t ever want to make anyone feel left out.

I know that situations like this can’t be 100% avoided, but it reminds me that I need to be considerate of others and that my actions, my children’s actions, can make a difference.

Philippians2: 3-4  “3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

How have you made a difference recently? It may seem small, but I can promise even the little things can have a big impact!

Each week I am joining the lovely Holley Gerth in her 2014 Encouragement Challenge. If you want to join in on the fun hop on over here!!

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