I just finished my exit questionnaire for Missouri State University. As I reduced my experiences to three things I liked, three things I disliked, and three reasons for leaving, I was struck by the power of just one. Many experiences, positive and negative, combined with many reasons for leaving, could be reduced to just one each. It turns out that “just one” is never just.
Note about the image: This is the one and only arrowhead I have ever found. Just one?
My Mysterious Mind
On the day I cleaned out my office I had a conversation with a staff member who is also hoping to retire soon. We compared experiences on the difference one person can make in the quality of work life for others. She and I have made a positive difference for each other in a work situation made nearly unbearable by the negative difference of someone else. The actions of one person can be the strongest factor in leaving a job or retiring.
Some of my former doctoral students took me to dinner to celebrate my retirement. Perplexed by my departure, they sought an explanation. Why am I leaving? I said it’s many things but, in the end, one person made the difference for me to leave, and another person made the difference in where I am going next. On a planet of over eight billion people, just one meant the difference in my retiring from one place and just one made a way for me to another place.
Just one. But is “just one” really the right way to express this phenomenon? The phrase diminishes the power of one, the power to move a person from one job to another. One person can have a significant impact on another person's life. Often the influence of one person reduces to just one action or one word of that one. Just one. Just one?
One action can destroy a marriage, a church, or a person’s reputation. One comment can bring hope, provide encouragement, and even prevent a suicide. One egg plus just one sperm can create an entire human being.
One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. Just one wrong word, one wrong turn, or one wrong choice. Your life, or someone else’s, might turn on just one. Years ago, I had a student who was a paraplegic. A champion diver in high school, she made one bad choice in college, diving into a pool while intoxicated. Her life’s path turned a permanent corner on just that one bad decision.
Another student shared with me how one comment I made to her was the catalyst for her finding a solution to the problems with her feet. When I saw her shuffling across campus, unaware of her chronic foot pain, I remarked to “put a little bounce into your steps!” I saw her many months later. She thanked me for that comment because, taking my advice, her foot pain was gone. Just one comment made the difference.
Just one. Just one? I’m often asked how many people read my Substack. I don’t give a specific answer because the total number shouldn’t really matter. Just one reader is enough to make my work worthwhile. Just one. Just you.
Message of Mystery Acres
I remember the first time my husband and I walked through Mystery Acres. It only took that one visit to etch a connection in my spirit, one I couldn’t shake. What started out as another random visit to another obscure piece of property in a remote location became more than just one visit.
In May 2022 I wrote my first piece on Substack. I had no plan for the next piece, just a plan to write once a week. More than 100 weeks later I am still writing just one piece per week. Sometimes I wonder if I will run out of ideas. Then I get one more idea, so I write one more post. In October 2023, those posts merged with Mystery Acres and became Mystery’s Voice. I had no grand plan to write about my time in the forest when I visited that first time. I had no plans to write at all. But each “just one” added to the single pieces of the past and became something so much more.
Sometimes my husband and I spend just one night at Mystery Acres, sometimes two, sometimes just an hour en route to somewhere else. No matter the length of the stay, it never feels like “just” anything. It always feels rich and full and more than “just.” One time, as I was traveling home on the highway five miles from our property, I took a side trip to spend just a few minutes in the forest. I left feeling so much more than “just” a little visit.
Our last visit included the usual search for rocks. I walked the dry stream bed with my grandsons and listened for the “chink” of chert under my feet. This signals the possibility of a stone tool made from this favorite material of indigenous people. I have already collected dozens of such chipped treasures, but this one day I found my first arrowhead. The top tip is broken off, the entire piece probably discarded as trash by its owner centuries ago. Some people have found dozens or even hundreds of arrowheads. I have only found one. Just one. Just one?
The message of Mystery Acres is that there is no such thing as “just” one. One visit to the forest can shift the trajectory of a person’s life. One arrowhead brings the thrill of touching something shaped and used by another someone from a long-ago past. There is so much in just one.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Whoever stumbles in just one part of the law has broken all of it.” (See James 2, verse 10)
One of my favorite books of the Bible was written by James, believed to be the biological half-brother of Jesus. Like most siblings, James was not a fan of his brother Jesus and was a tough sell on the whole Messiah thing. Siblings can be harsh critics and no doubt James was no exception, with many disparaging words against Jesus.
But after Jesus died and came back to life, James changed his mind about Him. That is probably due to Jesus making a special appearance to James (see 1 Corinthians 15, verse 7). It’s hard to deny a person’s claim to being something more than human after you’ve talked to them, in the flesh, following a brutal, public execution. After that, James changed what he said about Jesus. He also wrote about how much damage our words can do.
If you want to get strong admonition to watch what you say, read what James wrote. His third chapter is all about “taming the tongue” because it can cause the same kind of damage as a spark triggering a forest fire (see James 3, verse 5). Just one little word is similar to one tiny ember setting fire to one’s life.
Not only that, but James wrote about how just one wrong action would break the entire book of laws for right conduct. He said, “whoever stumbles in just one part of the law has broken all of it.” No matter the offense that brings a person before the judge, they deserve to have the entire book thrown at them. Just one offense. Just one?
James also knew the power of just one person, his earthly half-brother, Jesus. Paul wrote about the power of that one person’s sacrifice in his letter to the Romans, particularly chapter five, verse seventeen. That one person, Jesus, brought forgiveness for all sins of all people. Just one person. Just one sacrifice. Just one?
The words of Ancient Mystery captured by James are a caution of the damage caused by just one wrong action. Just one hateful word. Just one lie. Just one piece of damaging gossip. Just one selfish action. The power of one is also seen in the single, saving act of Jesus. That power is more than just one because Jesus is the one.
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of the power of one and how one is never “just” one? First, it requires awareness of how a single action, word, or person is so much more than it might appear. Each “one” has the power to bring growth or destruction. Who you are, what you say, and what you do matters far beyond “just” one person.
I composed and submitted my exit questionnaire. In it, I wrote about the negative impact of individuals and how the cumulative result was my needing to leave. The emailed form went to one person in Human Resources. She responded with kind and encouraging words; she also told me the information I shared would be provided to the Director of Human Resources and the Provost. I wrote about the facts. Just the facts.
A former student recently left her employer and submitted an exit questionnaire. That action sparked a set of grievances from other employees; all had experienced similar mistreatment but lacked the courage to act until just one person had the courage to write about what had happened to her. Just one person. Just one?
Which recalls the many great movements sparked by the brave actions of a single person. Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Martin Luther, to name a few. I love the song “It only takes a spark,” and how one spark gets a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. Just one spark. Just one?
Living in this mystery also means not focusing on the final sum of your life. Instead, focus on just one day at a time, one person, one action. Focus on just the one comment you are about to make. Focus on the next phone call, card, or text message. Focus on getting this one, the next one, as the best it can be.
As an old mom to young parents, I could take my advice in two directions. First, I admonish you to help your children guard their words and regulate their actions. But, and perhaps more importantly, I warn you about the power of your words and actions. Just one word can break a child’s spirit. A single helpful act taken, or an essential act neglected, can change the trajectory of a child’s life. Parenting is serious business. Thankfully, you only must be a parent one day at a time, one moment at a time. Just one. And you can certainly rise to the challenge of just one.
One makes all the difference. Just one is never just one. One straw can break the camel’s back. One seed can become hundreds, whose growth transforms the landscape. Living in this mystery recognizes the magnificent power of just one. Just one?
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I confess to being careless when it comes to the power of one. I sometimes neglect to do the one thing needed, while doing, instead, the one thing hurtful. Help me to see the many opportunities to be the transformative power of the one person in the life of another one person. Give me the strength and courage to rise to the challenge of being that person. Thank You for the one life of Jesus and its power to forgive my many mistakes. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I suggest you read the book of James. It’s a relatively easy read full of timeless advice.
You can find previous posts of my work at my ARCHIVE and organized compilations in the My Books section. You can also find Mystery’s Voice on Spotify.
I want to know what you’re thinking! You can email me at: Dear Dr. Mac or leave/send a message (see below). I love hearing from you!
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