I was inspired this week as friends and strangers reached out beyond their spheres of comfort to extend grace and friendship to those who are hurting. Our country’s recent race-related deaths can either divide or draw us together.

Sometimes it feels that we can do little to stop the violence and hatred. Whether in our own country or far away, there is so much strife and misunderstanding, such fear. It is easy to become paralyzed.

How can we, with our little efforts, bring lasting change?

Last year my family and I were living in one of Maine’s most crowded neighborhoods, squeezed between a busy street and trees and jutting rocks. But I wanted a garden. So, even though I didn’t have room for one, I spent $50 on seeds—green beans, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes.

Last August, we put up a ‘For Sale’ sign. Clearly, even if we found a house with land, I wasn’t going to be able to plant those seeds. But I held onto them anyway. In the middle of winter, when we moved to a little house with four acres, I brought the seeds. The land was so overgrown, I still didn’t have a place to plant them.

I thought of giving the seeds to a friend with a garden. But these were my seeds! The seeds of my dreams of bountiful harvests and farm dinners. So, I planted the seeds in pots, set them by a sunny window, and began digging.

By the time I planted my shoots, it was the middle of June. Deer or some happy groundhog got the kale and Swiss chard before we put up a fence. But if I’d waited until I’d had everything perfectly prepared, I never would have planted them. Excuses would have stolen my dreams.

Sometimes, you have to start right where you are with what you have, despite the obstacles.

All year, I’ve watched the growing crisis in Syria, wondering how to help. I don’t have an unlimited budget, but I like to cook. I like books. And I like people. So I organized a fundraiser.

On Friday, July 29th, at 5 p.m., Richmond Church of the Nazarene, 91 Alexander Reed Rd., will host a Refugee Relief Dinner and talk by Marcus Doe, author of “Catching Ricebirds.” For a $10 donation, you can enjoy simple Syrian food, and hear Does share his experience of being a Liberian refugee and finding God’s grace to let vengeance go. He’ll also read and sign books at The Mustard Seed Bookstore, 74 Front St., Bath, on Thursday, July 28, from 6-7:30 p.m.

For reservations for the dinner, email: meadow@meadowrue.com

Even if you can’t come, take a look at the seeds God has given you. What dreams or talents or gifts are you holding that could bless someone else?

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Meadow Rue Merrill writes and reflects on God’s presence in her ordinary life from a little house in the big woods of Mid-coast Maine. Her memoir, “Redeeming Ruth,” releases in May 2017. Find her at meadowrue.com.