After my wife died eight years ago, I began attending the noon Sunday service at Christian Life Center. That’s where I met Jeff, Jean and their son, Andrew. They invited me to meet them at a restaurant after church. It was a family meal that often included other members of their family when they could make it. They accepted me as a new member of their family at a time I needed it the most. In the summer, their granddaughter, Natalie, and her brother would come up to visit Jeff and Jean. Natalie was a pretty girl with a quiet smile that would light up the room. One Sunday, her brother had been picking on her and she was quietly pouting. I called her over and quietly told her not to ever let anyone take away her beautiful smile, not even her brother. I told her to just quietly smile at them when they try. It will drive them crazy.
Fast forward seven years to this past week. The family now lives in Georgia, but I’m still in touch with Jeff through emails and with Jean through Face Book. Jean posted a photo of Natalie in her band uniform at school. Her smile was just as bright as I remembered it, but she has developed into a beautiful young woman now. I mentioned how much she had grown since I last saw her and Jean replied that she is just over six feet tall now. Seeing that photo brought back fond memories of those Sunday meals with that wonderful family. It had a great impact on my life.
Jane Goodall (famous for her work with primates in the wild) once wrote, “Every day of your life, you will have an impact on the world around you. You get to decide what kind of impact it will be.” Each Christian has a calling to have a positive impact on the world around us in our own special way. All we have to do is be obedient to our calling. Sometimes it will be lending a helping hand to someone who is struggling; sometimes it will simply be a smile or a sincere compliment. It doesn’t necessarily involve a lot of effort on our part and it may not seem like we are making an impact on the world at the time, but it can make a world of difference in the life of one person and they can pass it on to others. That family gave one old man their love and a reason to go on and now that positive impact is going out around the world in this blog. When God is involved, just be amazed at the impact you have on your world.