What Difference Will It Make? (08/19/2026)

I had a hair cut yesterday at 11, and I considered going a little late because it seems the salon is usually running late, but I decided against it. What if they were on time? So I went a little early as usual (my dad raised me on Lombardi time – meaning I should be there at 10:45 or I was late). When I arrived, I could tell my stylist wasn’t at her chair. I checked the seating to the left of the door, but someone was sitting there. I smiled and turned away, but then I realized, the patron I’d just smiled at was a former confirmation student. I turned back, our eyes locked, and she smiled broadly. In unison, we said, “Hi!”

I asked her what she was up to and she shared that she’d been accepted at her dream university and was leaving soon to settle in. I knew the school well because it was in a city I visited often as a child. When I asked about her major, she surprised me when she told me it was music and that she wanted to teach music. But what really surprised me was when she added that she’d also signed up for a track with Gospel music. “Really?” I asked with excitement, and she noticed. Then we talked about that for a bit.

Finally, I asked her about her younger brother whom I had also taught when he was in the 6^th grade. She promised to tell him I said, “Hi.”

As I pondered my day with lots of interaction with others, I must admit the conversation that stuck with me the most and for which I was most grateful was with this young woman. I promised her and her classmates to pray for them every day by name. And I did. I know that not everyone believed that it would make a difference, but I always did. I prayed for her that whole year daily and beyond that. I prayed that she would prosper in her faith and her life. She is a fantastic young woman who has worked hard and made great choices. And I believe she also is a woman of prayer. I thank the LORD heard us both and guided us both.

What difference will it make? I hear that question all the time, especially from youth. Days like today remind me that our choices and our loving concern for another makes a huge difference, and if we are patient and attentive, we very well may see that ourselves. My decision today to go early just in case the stylist was on time was rewarded with a special visit with an exceptional young woman. And my visit with her assured me that my decision to pray for her daily was meaningful in her journey even though she may not have remembered the promised prayer.

A wise woman once assured me that decision made with love will bear fruit, they will make a difference. Let us on our journey have faith that the LORD is hearing our prayer, guiding us because of it, and acting on our prayers even when we aren’t seeing the proof instantly.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.