When I was in junior high, I loved to go to my best friend’s house after school.  Of course, I could go home to the tiny, silent apartment my mother worked hard to provide for us, but she was working long hours and I was home alone a lot.  So I’d much rather go home with my friend and soak up the laughter, talk, and love of her big family.  My friend’s father didn’t have a high paying job.  In fact, I think things were very tight financially for them.  Her mother was a stay-at-home mom to five active kids.  But they generously gave their time and affection to many who needed it, me included. Nothing about them sounds remarkable, right?  Oh, but what they gave me lives on in me.  And, I think, in others I have influenced.  They modeled so many wonderful things.  Hospitality, even if you don’t have much.  Listening with your heart.  The joys of a big family.  Loving God with your whole heart.  Being satisfied with what you have.  Being patient with the foibles of others.  Serving others humbly even when you’re not appreciated.  Laughing a lot.  Being faithful in participating at church.  I wanted to be like them.  Their lives were reflected in my aspirations.  I hate to think how different my life would have turned out without their love and example.

“It’s not about what you accomplish.  It’s what you set into motion that matters. What you accomplish is short-lived. What you set into motion can last for generations.” Bill Wilson of Metro Ministries

We may finish big projects, reach high goals, and attain success.  We may finish small projects, reach some of our goals, and never attain the success we strove for.  But, actually, these aren’t the gauge of a well-lived life.  What we plant in the lives of others that grow and multiply matters far more than our own accomplishments.

So when you feel like you haven’t accomplished what you had hoped and your life hasn’t counted for much,  think about the many little and big things you did for others.  Your family, your friends, random strangers.  You may never know the influence you had in someone’s life.  You may never know the difference you made by your acts of love.  But they benefitted and chances are, they are passing along to others what you gave them.

By the way, are there people who contributed to your life that you need to thank?  You could give them a lot of joy by letting them know how the good they did for you has continued to impact your life. Several years ago, a former high school student of mine took the time to thank me for teaching him a particular skill that he was using to work his way thru college.  Wow!  My heart swelled to hear that something I taught him was making a difference in his life.  It didn’t take him a long time to thank me, but I will never forget how he made me feel.

Paying it forward is a great way to be not just takers, but also givers.  What did we learn from someone that we can teach to someone else?  What did we receive that we can pass on?   What kindness did we receive that we do for someone else?  I have received the gift of friendship and hospitality so often in my life during my 36 moves.  So I’m especially aware of newcomers and seek to welcome them and invite them into our lives just as others have welcomed me.

Think of the teachers that have impacted your life.  I can clearly remember liking my Bible teachers at church from the time I was 6 years old.  I would stare at them, noticing all the little details of their appearance and their mannerisms.  Yes, I did listen, too!  And all of us have good or bad memories of our school teachers.  I fondly remember the neighbor lady who taught me preschool in her home.  Her handicapped daughter was my first introduction to the fact that not all children are healthy and whole.  I learned to give special consideration to the limits of others both there and in my crippled grandmother’s house where I spent most of my early childhood.  This early training has stayed with me my whole life.  

“If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus…Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.” 1 Timothy 4:5 ,12-13

I can almost hear some of my dear readers saying, “That’s all fine, but I’m not a teacher.  How can this apply to me?”  My dear friend, ‘teacher’ is broader then you imagine.  Think back to the people  that have taught you about life.  Some of them taught you by their bad example.  You watched them and said, “I don’t want to be like that.  I’m not going to do what they’re doing.”  Others loved on you and you gladly spent time with them and watched how they lived.  You took note of their attitudes and their values.  And those all soaked into your soul.  Were they teachers?  Yes!  And so are you!

It seems to me that our influence on children and young people is especially important.  Maybe because they are forming ideas about themselves, the world, and God that they will live by for decades.  If we can teach by example, explain what we believe, and love on them they will have the tools for whatever life throws at them.  The Scriptures are clear that we should explain the truth to our children and be living examples as we encourage them to obey God.

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.  When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.  And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’  then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”   Exodus 12:24-27

“We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’  Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”  Joshua 4:6-7

“carefully obey the commands I am giving you today … love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul… So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine….Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” Deuteronomy 11:13,18-19 

So what am I getting at?  

Let’s be aware of the importance of our attitudes and behavior toward children because we are constantly teaching by our example.  Take every opportunity to explain God to them.

Let’s pass on the blessings we have received from others.

Let’s thank those who contributed to our lives.  Sometimes we can thank people immediately.  Sometimes we need to go out of our way to thank those who did good to us in the past.