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the power of one

Do you have recurring numbers appear in your life? I do. The number one appears many times during my day. I usually happen to look at the digital clock when it reads 11:11 or 1:11 (yep, I stay up that late and no, I am not a clock-watcher by any means). People tell me I am good one-on-one. I have clothes that are size one. I am not very good at multi-tasking - I like to do one thing at a time. I have one husband (okay, that's hardly extraordinary, I admit). Several times a week I spend wondering what all these one's mean. Yesterday was another one of those times.

We just had someone move out of our house after a few months' stay and it is amazing how much one person's presence changes the dynamic in a household. And how one person's absence can affect you in a profound way. Yesterday I had a friend call me for directions and after I told her how to get there in a few easy steps, she told me that I have a gift for making things simple and it eases people's stress and makes them feel less overwhelmed. That one sentence deeply affected me. It made me see the value of how my mind works, and acknowledging my value is something I am being challenged on right now.

I often find myself saying or singing, "Jesus is the one," and I inserted that phrase on my facebook profile where you are asked to fill in your religious views. The power of one man and one life have never been more perfectly illustated than in the life of Jesus. There is only one true God. One cannot serve two masters (so that would make it only ONE master can be served at a time).

The fact that I am so deeply moved and affected by one person, one moment in time, one phrase, one touch, or one glance at the sky means that I must also see the value of the "one's" that I deposit in this world and in the lives of those around me. I write a weekly email for our church and in addition to the usual announcements, I try to be a little more thoughtful and include a few quotes and perhaps something personal that I am learning or experiencing. It is just one email once a week, but this week several people responded to say what I had written spoke to their situation very directly. Just one small email written by one person sitting alone by their computer wondering if all this pondering and writing is really a worthwhile use of my time - the power of one.

Another side to the "one-ness" is the power of unity: when two or more come together and become one in purpose or heart or mind or body (I am talking marriage here). One is sometimes made out to be a very small number, as in "I only have one friend, or one dollar, or one pair of shoes." One is not small. One matters. One often means you have selected only the best. One means you are not wasteful. One means you are not lacking - it is more than zero.

Be one. Have one. Take one. Give one. Join with one. Enjoy one.

This is one deer out of many at the Ecomuseum.
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