I was recently doing a devotional question that asked, “Who and
what has taught you or impacted your life, and what lesson’s will you never
forget?” I started to casually and
quickly jot down my answers and was surprised at how many people have impacted
my life even through the smallest acts. I
have always heard that a small act of kindness or a simple comment can have a
huge impact, but until I answered this question, I never really believed it was
true. I also noticed how many people
from church have had an impact.
First, the obvious influences from church are the pastors and
Sunday school teachers. Sermons by my
pastors, Debra Quilling Smith and Rett Haselden, have absolutely changed my actions
in life. The church bands have motivated me when I needed encouragement, and
God has even spoken to me through them.
The discussions lead by the Sunday school teachers, Matt and Emily Bell,
J and Elizabeth Morgan, John Moore, and James Williamson have certainly
helped me grow. James Williamson has recently influenced us by using his knowledge
of the Bible and helped us see how to use the Bible in our daily lives. Elizabeth Morgan may not realize that she has
absolutely changed the way I act in life by simply mentioning a book by Brother
Andrew in passing. That book taught me how to better hear God when he is
speaking. The speeches I heard during the fulfilling freedom campaign have
stayed with me as well. Too many names
come to mind when I think of all the people who have welcomed me and made me
feel like part of the church family. All
these above are examples of the more obvious influences; however, I was surprised
to notice how many others have impacted me by what may have seemed like only
small actions. For example, Lollie
Haselden, Clay Summers, and Jutta Faris were probably big reasons we joined St.
John’s. When we were visiting, Lollie
and Clay were standing near the entrance and were so friendly and welcoming to
us as strangers. Then, Jutta approached
us before the service, introduced herself, and even gave us a tour of the
church after the service. Even kind
words from my church family have stuck with me, like comments from Pat White,
Marie Leonard, and Ida Newsom. Ida
Newsom has made simple comments on how to show love to all of her church family
that still sticks with me.
So what did I learn from all of this? I learned how greatly people affect each other
everyday without ever realizing it. If
others affect me so much; then how much can some small action or comment of
mine benefit someone? I want to remember
to use kind words and be friendly to all.
I want to show thoughtfulness throughout my daily life. I want to remember
that we never know when our small actions or comments are going to mean so much
and even change someone’s life. I know
some of these people I named never had a clue that they influenced me. My last thought is that if you know of
someone who has influenced you, I would love for you to post it on this blog. You may just want to post a quick
one-sentence thank you or maybe you have a whole story to tell. Please tell us who has impacted you.
