Welcome to the Infinitely Precious Podcast produced by Infinitely Precious LLC. Your host is James Henry. Remember, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.

Hello, beloved. It's me, James, and it's time for another opportunity for us to share together in the Infinitely Precious podcast. I'm so delighted that you're joining me here. I hope that you're sharing it if it has meaning to you so that it might touch the lives of others. That's part of why I do this.

I think it's part of my call to share with people how infinitely precious they already are. You might remember several weeks ago, we began a series. I took a brief break from it when I returned from Appalachia Service Project and I'm returning to it. The Ripening Series. I have sort of through time and work on understanding that the spiritual life is about ripening, begun to sort of define for myself some practices that are about ripening.

And the third practice, and they're not in any particular order, they don't build on each other, and they are certainly interrelated and connected in different ways. But the third practice I'm going to speak about today is ripening action. Now, of what I think ripening action is, is beginning to recognize that every action in our lives can matter. We tend to think of action in terms of the grandiose gestures that we can make in life. Those moments when we save the day, when we change the course of history, when our words are the fodder for memes and great expressions.

But ripening action is the kind of action that is sort of noting in the fabric of our lives together, the relational fabric of all that is, that simple acts of love and kindness can change the course of our existence in the same way that we imagine our grandiose gestures do. And rather than wait for the moment when we can make the big thing happen, the big gesture, we can instead focus on looking for the moments, being aware of the moments and stepping into those moments. I have had the opportunity yesterday afternoon, part of my work as a pastor is getting to visit with people and share some time in the hospital. And I went to go see someone yesterday at the hospital. And it was a good visit.

We had a nice conversation. I learned some things and we got to pray together. And that was good. And I left thinking that was the end of my Sunday of working, so to speak, that I had gotten to be present with a person and really enjoy their presence. And then I was leaving.

So I walked through the hospital and got on the elevator. Someone else was waiting for the elevator, we got on the elevator. And I don't know, something rose up in me. Some people in my life tell me I don't ever meet strangers, but I just ask how was your visit today? How are you, you know, how is it going?

And I found out a little of the story of the person who was riding that elevator and why they were visiting in the hospital. And it became an opportunity for them to express what was going on for them. There were tears and concern and uncertainty. And we reached the end of the elevator depositing us in the lobby. And as it happened, we had to walk the distance of the at least I did the distance of the hospital to another in another direction on the far side.

And so did this person. They were going for a meal, which was on the way. So we walked together. Ultimately, towards the end, I asked, did they need someone to talk to? Would they like me to sit down while they're getting something to eat and talk?

And the answer was no. They didn't feel like they needed that. But then I asked the name of the person they were visiting and would it be all right if I prayed? And that moment opened. Now, I didn't tell you the story because it's a way of patting myself on the back or saying, look at me, look at me.

What I'm saying is it was a very small act of simply being present in an elevator ride and on, I don't know, a 150 foot walk down a corridor, a winding corridor as the case may be, on the way to two different destinations together. And in that small moment, I feel like ripening action took place. I don't know how the other person perceived it. But in that moment, I felt like I was in the right place at the right time. And mostly I listened and encouraged and reflected.

And I may never know if it really made any difference. But my being there was a form of ripening action. It was a simple, question that led to a conversation, an opportunity to share, and then to move on. Sometimes that's all it is. Ripening Action is saying good morning to someone you're passing in the hallway or on the street if you're out for a morning walk.

It's something as simple as offering a word of encouragement or a smile. Those little actions feel like maybe nothing to you, but they might be a great effort for you. Maybe you're not feeling it, But maybe you can muster enough from within to offer something that is ripe in that moment. Because for moment to moment, we go from ripe to unripe to ripe again. And it's all dependent on how we're there in the moment.

I could have been silent on the elevator ride. Something rose up inside of me and I spoke. And it began a conversation. And hopefully it made a difference. It at least let me express my concern and love in the form of kindness before I passed on from that space and left.

It's possible for you to do the exact same thing. It's possible for all of us to do the exact same thing. We look for the grand gestures. We want to make the grand gestures. But I think the grand gestures in our life grow from the little gestures.

They grow from those little ripe actions in the right moment. And that's what makes them ripe. Right actions in the right moment is ripe action, ripening action. Sometimes it offers healing. Sometimes it offers hope.

Sometimes it offers just a break from what is a continuity in a person's life of uncertainty, of chaos, of whatever it is. Just a moment when another perspective is offered because everything is connected. We're part of the beautiful relational fabric of an entire universe. And when we bring for a moment disruption to what is sometimes negativity by simply being present to the moment. I didn't make the moment any better.

I didn't take away that which the person I was walking with carried. I couldn't, but I could help them carry it and carry it with them while we walked down the hall until we parted ways and then offered to carry it up, lift it if you will, to the eternal, to the divine, and entrust it there. And wherever you are, whenever you are, when you show up, when you are present, when you take an opportunity to be kind, you may change the very fabric of everything that goes on around you. You may create the small ripple in the pond that spreads out. But you will never know if you do not attend to the moment, be present in the moment, and perhaps dare to touch the water in order to send out that ripple.

It's worth considering. It's certainly worth being active in your own life. Ripening Action is recognizing that the little pieces are the ones that often matter the most. Not the grand gestures that you put off until the big thing comes along, but the little moments may make difference that you won't ever see, that you won't ever know, that no one can measure. Certainly not you or me, but it makes all the difference in the world because when you do, when you are a part of ripening action, you are saying to the other person in your kindness, in your love, in your presence in that moment, that they are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift they already are.

You're saying that same thing that I say to you every week. You may not say it in those words but you're saying that your precious person you're encountering is precious enough for you to be present, kind, and loving. And that's a powerful statement in a world that often feels kind of negative and broken, and it's hard to see the relational fabric of it all. And maybe in those moments when you are living into ripening action, you can see, feel, touch, know the relational fabric of it all in that moment, to know you're a part of it all and that you make a difference. Remember, I already said the phrase, but I'm going to say it again because you need to hear it.

You are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are. Go into this world. Let your action ripen. Try to be present in the moment. There'll be plenty you won't, just like there are plenty I'm not.

But then maybe that moment, that elevator moment, that passing on the street moment, that talking to the cashier moment, that helping someone get something that's too tall for them or too far below them they can't bend over to get, it's those little moments that might change the very fabric of your day and the person you're encountering. So go and do that if you will. You're precious in love no matter what, but be the gift that you are. Until the next time, wish you all the best.