A few days later, “making ripples” would become more than an illustration.

On August 7, we started school and began a new routine. My video that night, entitled “Eat the Frog,” was about doing things you don’t want to do. While recording, I missed a call from my best friend. Usually, we message each other or text, so I initially thought that she called unintentionally.

Until she left a voicemail.

As I listened to her short message, I knew it would never leave me, and that I would never forget the sound of her voice.

“The girls have been in an accident!”

I don’t know how I stayed standing. I don’t know how I found the ability to stay calm enough to return her call. What I know is that moment and the hours that followed changed our lives.

I began praying as soon as I played the voicemail. I kept vigil through the night, unable to sleep, waiting for news. In three hours, my friend lost two of her three daughters.

I dreaded telling my children the next morning. My son had spent part of that day at the youth rally with them. My daughter adored them. I loved them, and could only love them more if they were my own.

In the following days, I witnessed an outpouring of love for my friend and her family from all corners of the earth. Ella and Aranza touched many lives in their daily activities. They never met a stranger. They befriended the friendless, listened to the lonely, and included the outcast. No one had to sit alone at the lunch table if Ella or Aranza was present.

As I shared information, I remembered my conversation with my son about ripples. At that moment, I said:

“These girls didn’t make ripples. They made waves.”

Thousands of lives were touched because of these young ladies.

Everything we know can change in an instant. We don’t always realize the impact we have on other people. Ella and Aranza showed how seemingly small acts of love and kindness can reach farther than we could ever know.

Making waves doesn’t always begin with something big. Sometimes, it begins by making sure no one sits alone.

While some people say things like, “Live every day as though it’s your last,” or “Today is the first day of the rest of your life,” I see an equal benefit in experiencing life as though something in it might be new each day. Childlike excitement, anticipation, and joy can fill even ordinary moments. What if instead of positioning ourselves as experts, we looked for something new to learn every day?

Pay attention to the opportunities God places in your path. Tell people you love them. Be present for the life you are living. We cannot control when the last moments will be. We can still choose how faithfully we live the moments between the firsts and lasts.

Be courageous, yet gracious. Be selfless, yet strong. Treat people as though they matter—because they do. Include the person sitting alone. Listen when people tell their stories. One small act of kindness could change the world of one person. You don’t know what waves could be created by the ripples you start.

Live in such a way that your ordinary moments make an extraordinary life. We spend so much time remembering our firsts and anticipating—or fearing—our lasts, but most of life happens somewhere in between.

Make a good middle.