Hey Everyone,
You know, there’s a massive difference between showing up at work and showing up for the people God places in your path. We often think the greatest impact happens on the other side of the world, but sometimes the most profound moments are right at our back door. We just have to have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hands ready to serve. That’s the powerful truth I want to share with you today from a recent moment at our Merle Hay Thrift Store. This story beautifully embodies our 3…2…1 Impact framework: three points to ponder, two quotes to share, and one story of profound impact.
1 Story of Impact
Stopping by the Many Hands Thrift Store on Merle Hay Road recently, I popped into the back to say hi to the staff. Walking past the mounds of Christmas decorations prepping to hit the floor, I spoke to Rachel, recently promoted to Assistant Manager.
“How is your day going?” I asked.
With a huge smile on her face, she immediately shot back, “I get to work in a thrift store. How could it be a bad day?”
She made a profound statement that resonated deeply with me: “We have such an opportunity to impact people’s lives at our back door.”
For most of her shift, Rachel works the donation door, the entryway to our Generosity Engine. She warmly greets the hundreds of people who pass through her presence each week, generously giving their items. It’s a place where action and compassion meet.
She told me that earlier this week, a lady pulled up with a car full of stuff. Helping her unload, Rachel could tell the woman was struggling. Asking if everything was okay, the lady broke down and cried. She was unloading her deceased parents’ belongings.
In that raw moment, Rachel was able to tell her own story: “I found Many Hands Thrift store in a place of great sadness in my life after I lost my mom. I’d come here and just walk the aisles, listening to the Christian music. I always left more uplifted than when I came in. It got me through. I hope I can do the same for that lady, as I hugged her and prayed with her.”
Those moments of personal connection are all around us when we aren’t too distracted to notice the small, quiet prompts. Rachel, by sharing her own journey, turned a transaction into testimony, bringing Heaven to Earth right there at the donation dock. It’s a powerful reminder that every single life carries the potential to be a sanctuary for someone else. Your own story, redeemed and claimed, is the highest currency of the Kingdom.
3 Points to Ponder
Rachel’s commitment to seeing the person behind the donation offers rich lessons for us all. Consider these three points:
- We are often waiting for the major signal, but impact starts with noticing a furrowed brow or a small struggle. What small, quiet prompt are you missing today? Open your eyes and ears to the immediate opportunities to be love in action right where you are.
- Your past struggle is not a secret; it’s a source of strength. What part of your transformation journey can you claim and share to connect with and breathe life into someone else this week?
- While our thrift model is financially amazing, its greatest value is creating places where people like Rachel can live their mission daily. Where is your “donation door”? What platform or workplace do you inhabit where you can intentionally serve the person in front of you?
2 Quotes to Share
These timeless words capture the spirit of serving with an open heart:
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” — Leo Buscagliai
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand.” — Henri Nouwen
The greatest impact we can have isn’t always calculated in containers of food shipped or money raised; sometimes, it’s measured in tears dried and stories shared at a back door.
Where will you choose to meet a struggling soul today?
Feel free to reply and share—I read every response.
Live with impact,
Tim
