I hate plastic bags.  I’m always mad at myself when I go to the store and forget my reusable bags and have to use plastic.  And I get even more upset when the cashier proceeds to use twice as many bags as I need. It makes me feel horrible for playing a part in destroying the earth.  I never imagined that the horrible blemish on our environment which is plastic bags could be redeemed.  Redemption is the transformation of something that was formerly a blemish, a problem, a stain on our society into something good, recovered, made new.  We helped convert plastic bags, which normally pollute the world, into mats for the homeless. Although they do not provide a way out of the homeless person’s condition, they hopefully send the message that “You matter”, providing a little comfort and hope to people who might have had only the cold, hard ground to sleep on at night.

I cannot change the world on my own.  I cannot even change one person; I have a hard enough time trying to change myself.  But I will do what I can, however small, because it is often the small things that I do for one another person that make all the difference – offering up my seat on the train, greeting a passerby, smiling at someone, holding the door open, sharing my food.  I may not be able to do great things, but I can do small things in a great way, sharing the love that I have been given.