A few months ago, I came across a movie in the library. It looked interesting enough, so I took it home to watch. The title, as you can probably guess, was “Pay It Forward.” In this movie, a young boy named Trevor receives an assignment from his teacher. The assignment was to “Think of something to change the world and put it into action.” The teacher didn’t expect his middle school aged kids to find something that actually changed the world. He just wanted them to work at something. Surprisingly, Trevor comes up with an idea that has the potential to do what his teacher didn’t think his students were capable of doing. The experiment: to do something for 3 different people and then ask them to each do something for 3 more people. Within a few months, a reporter from a few states over learned of this experiment when he himself becomes the recipient of one such good deed, and then he did everything he could to follow it back to the source. The reporter eventually learned that it started with but a child trying to make a small difference.

This is, or should be, the hope of many individuals: to make a difference in the world. Have you ever wondered if anything you do or have done will be remembered after you’re gone? I do all the time and I think the idea of paying it forward could be something that changes someone’s life for the better. Even if everyone doesn’t remember you, the person you help does! Then, everyone that person helps will remember what was done for them. Just because you don’t always see the outcome after serving someone, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t serve. At least God will always know.

Unlike the gifts and such things that are given in the movie, I am not in a position to give my life savings or a brand new car away, but I wanted to accept this same challenge by doing simple things for people that can’t help themselves. Throughout my whole life I have been blessed over and over again by people giving me things, driving me places, advising me in situations, and supporting me when I truly needed it, so now that I’m in a place in my life where I am capable of giving back, I’ve decided that I want to pay forward what I can’t pay back. So, over the past 3 months, I’ve found 2 people to help so far. Both were in desperate need and I gave up my time to serve them. I didn’t have to spend a lot of money, but I still think it meant a lot to the people I helped. I have already issued the challenge to them and hope they will find a way to pay it forward!

I don’t know what will happen or even if it will be passed on to more than just a handful of people, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from trying. If you had an idea of how to change the world in a small way, would you try it? Well, here’s a chance! Try paying it forward! My hope is that somewhere down the line there will be a person to whom paying it forward will circle back around. This is my goal! What’s yours?