The Lions Club of Land O’ Lakes Roar

This Roar will not be about our club, The Lions Club of Land O’ Lakes, but rather about our collective as individuals and groups of our communities.

I am sitting in front of the little, but very mighty wood stove watching the flames. I am particularly attracted to the little sparks that jump off a branch and fly around in every possible direction. For most of the time it's an aimless flight that quickly fades away and the light diminishes. Yet, every now and then, a single tiny spark lands on a ready branch, and the little spark continues to a full flame bringing warmth and comfort.

This morning, I read a little shared Facebook post about a Canadian boy from Ontario, Ryan, who was six years old and managed to raise funds to support a community in Uganda to drill a water well that allowed an entire village to have drinking water. His efforts, as time progressed, lead to an entire, ongoing, campaign across multiple nations in Africa and Latin America for providing water.

Ryan was that little spark that started an aimless journey only to land, through hard work and persistent kindness, on a branch that provided the much-needed warmth of heart.

As we end the year 2025, and start to look forward towards 2026, let us ask ourselves, have we been a spark in anyone's life? Have we been a Ryan to anyone? Every little spark matters, because every little spark has the potential to, one day, become a moving flame that changes one or more lives for the better. Let us all aim to be a spark, a Ryan.

Till we meet again in a Roar, take time to reflect on a year that was probably filled with all kinds of memories. Hold the good ones close to your hearts. Leave the bad ones in 2025. And usher in, with an open heart the sparks of 2026. Happy New Year to all from the Lions Club of Land O’ Lakes Members.