The Impact You Make

I was blessed this past Saturday by spending time with a longtime friend from Virginia. She was in Florida visiting her son and we met for lunch. God knows what the heart needs! I’ve truly missed my friends “back home” – a lifetime of relationships now live 13 ½ hours away.

We chatted about many things before parting, and being the thoughtful person she is, she had brought me a gift. A book about making an impact – learning through the lives of women in the Bible. She said that given the direction God has taken me, and with the start-up of a ministry and business, she thought this was something I’d enjoy reading. She wasn’t wrong. In fact, I really haven’t been able to move past the introduction. That alone has caused me to pause. (Don’t you love it when the Lord puts something right in front of you to make you slow down and just ponder it?)

What prompted me to stop and spend more time processing what the words meant to me was this:

“Remember that, like these women, you too are an influencer. We don’t always feel influential, but the truth is that ordinary decisions we make will, over time, impact others directly and indirectly. From wearing an “I Voted” sticker to ordering dessert because our friends do, from spreading infectious laughter and contagious yawns to passing on everything from germs to recycling habits, we influence others all the time.

Our choices matter. Our actions have ripple effects, sometimes for generations. We don’t have to be powerful leaders, eloquent spokespeople, or recognized personalities to leave legacies. The graceful influence of an ordinary life marked by wise, godly decisions emits light that diminishes the world’s darkness.”*

Join me in thinking about this for just a moment. Re-read it.

“…you too are an influencer.”

“The graceful influence of an ordinary life marked by wise, godly decisions emits light that diminishes the world’s darkness.”

And when I turned the page, the author continues:

        “No matter how small we may feel our lives are or how limited we view our reach, our actions touch and ripple through other lives. We make a difference. We should worry less about the size of our reach and focus more on ensuring our effect is for God’s glory.”*

So, after reading the introduction, I just had to put my bookmark in the book and stop and pray about what this meant for me. I had already been convicted that God wanted me to do something more than I had been doing. That’s what led me to create a shell art business. And then the website – for HIS glory.

In the last several weeks, I could offer you more than one instance where God has confirmed the direction I am heading. It’s humbling, and I am grateful that He’s given me insight to see a little more clearly than I have before. But it’s hard considering myself “an influencer.” I am certainly not trying to be the next popular social media personality on the scene… but this sentiment reminds me of my actions and words – even in the grocery line. It’s truly in our everyday, ordinary actions and words that we influence others.

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus clearly tells us that we are the light of the world! And verse 16 says, ^“… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

We are influential. Just being who God created us to be and striving to make wise, godly decisions every single day. Ultimately, it’s all about relationships, and making disciples. We can simply leave a “Jesus” impression on someone else in our “ordinary” lives. God can use us right where we are, and even with all our flaws.

And there’s one more thing I’d like to share … the irony about this book and the giver. The book is about being a godly influencer. The giver is a Jesus follower who once served in a role that most people would idolize. Many would say her life has been extraordinary – and she would say that while she was put into a role she never expected, she considers herself “ordinary.” She’s humble and gentle and an excellent role-model – graceful influence. She’s strived to serve God in every role she’s had, and has. And I’ve learned a great deal from her. Thanks for being a great influence on me, Jean Ann.

You can make a impact on someone today, be a graceful influencer.

*Excerpts are from the book, Graceful Influence, by Lori Stanley Roeleveld.

If you’d like to join me in reading this, click here to get your copy.