I’m babysitting three of my grandkids today and sitting on the patio watching them play. The oldest is pushing her doll around in a little stroller. The boy is driving his big red plastic car, loading and unloading equipment (he doesn’t just play…he plays “work”). The youngest is toddling around from thing to thing, crawling on and getting into everything.

I enjoy just sitting here watching them.

I was discipling someone who was going through a difficult trial. Every week during our meeting, he was asking me to pray for his faith to grow. But every week, he was also in turmoil over the adversity he was up against.

One week, after listening to his struggle, I asked him, “Do you want relief from this trial, or do you want your faith to grow stronger?”

We have so many wonderful things to share from Easter weekend. Not only was the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead a beautiful time, but many lives were transformed.

But I have to tell you about last Saturday night at our Portage Park campus. It was their first Saturday night service, and I went to celebrate with them.

Philip was born with Down syndrome and attended a third-grade Sunday School class with several other eight-year-olds. The other kids were not sure how to interact with him, so he was always on the outside. But on Easter Sunday, they learned a special lesson from him, endearing him to them.

A couple years ago, Linda and I were in Talkeetna, Alaska at the foot of Denali National Park, and the foot of that giant mountain (now Mt. McKinley again). Most people don’t know that Mt. McKinley is earth’s tallest mountain from base to peak on land.

We were there for mountain flight training.

I know that is not what you want. Everyone who has ever lived has had an internal desire to make a difference, to live in such a way that their lives will outlast their time on earth. And you’re no exception.

But a lot of people go through life without making any kind of impact. In your heart, you don’t want that. But here’s how it often happens...