The Power of the Ordinary!

I told you about a story told by Dr. Peter Marshall would come so here we go. 

We all may have a secret desire to make some sort of mark from our life in the world around us.  Your vision is that this mark is made by only the famous, the great orators, or some other occupation which gleams in the lime light.  Really the ordinary people of the world are the movers and shakers, they just don't realize it!  It is the ordinary actions of our daily lives that are touching the lives of those around us...the world we live in.  Dr. Peter Marshall gave a vivid illustration in telling a story about a very ordinary and seemingly unimportant individual...read on, there is great hope for us ordinary people.

"The Keeper of the Spring, was a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slopes of the Alps.  The old gentleman had been hired many years ago by a young town council to clear away the debris from the pools of water up in the mountain crevices that fed the lovely spring flowing through their town.  With faithful, silent regularity he paroled the hills, removed the leaves and branches, and wiped away the silt that would otherwise contaminate the fresh flow of water.  By and by, the village became a popular attraction for vacationers.  Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear spring, the millwheels of various businesses located near the water turned day and night, farmlands were naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants was picturesque beyond description.

Years passed.  One evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting.  As they reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary figure of the obscure keeper of the spring.  Said the keeper of the purse, 'Who is this old man?  Why do we keep him on year after year? No one ever sees him.  For all we know that strange ranger of the hills is doing no good.  He isn't necessary any longer.'  By a unanimous vote, they dispensed with the old man's services.

For several weeks nothing changed.  By early autumn the trees started to shed their leaves.  Small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water.  One afternoon someone noticed a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring.  A couple of days later the water was much darker.  Within another week, a slimy flim covered section of the water along the banks and a foul odor was soon detected.  The millwheels moved slower and then some ground to a halt. Swans left as well as the tourists.  Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.

Quickly, the embarrassed council called a special meeting.  Realizing their gross error in judgment, they hired back the keeper of the spring...and within a few weeks the veritable river of life began to clear up.  The wheels started to turn, and new life returned to the hamlet in the Alps once again."

The point?  The 'small' seemingly unimportant tasks done by ordinary people like you and me are the changers for the world.