We Make a Difference

It was just about midweek during our annual canoe trip. Just as dinner was being served, an argument erupted between two of the older Scouts. After separating them and counselling with each of them, I went down to the lake for a little solitude. Somehow the group just wasn’t coming together. I sat on a log with my feet propped up on two rocks resting in the water, trying to think of what I could do to make a difference. Just about when I’d decided that the trouble was all due to some failing on my part, I looked up and noticed some huge thunderheads that had formed. How beautiful they were. Then something caught my eye across the lake. It looked as if diamonds were dancing toward me on the water! Closer and closer they came until they finally reached me. Hail! The hail started coming down harder and harder until I had to put my head down. Still, the hail came down even harder. I pulled my jacket up over my head, but the hail was unrelenting in its force. There I was with my head between my legs, my eyes squeezed shut against the pain of the pounding hailstones, my nose only inches from the surface of the water, thinking, “Why me, God? Why me?” And the hail came down even harder. Finally, I opened my eyes and looked down below the surface of the lake. There, under the protection of my jacket, the underwater life continued as normal, while beyond the influence of my coat the lake churned with the fury of the hailstorm. It was only then that I realized what God was trying to tell me—I did make a difference. We all make a difference to a Scout in life’s storms. Just by being who we are, someone to come to with a problem, someone who can understand the differences of opinions, someone who stands for right and provides a good example. Just remember, we do make a difference.

Pearls of Wisdom—Quotes from Baden-Powell

“The Scoutmaster must be alert to check badge hunting as compared to badge earning.”