Personal Touch

Last night, as I hung Christmas cards around the window frame next to our sparkling tree, I took another glance at some with special little notes. All mentioning small things we had done that touched that family or that person. Then one card especially touched me. It was from a lady that I’ve know most of my life, who is aging very fast this last year or so. I can always expect a heart felt hug from her. She didn’t write anything but “Love” and her first name, but the card itself said all that needed to be said. One line: “…every person in my life has shaped and changed my life…”

Do I really think about how I touch people’s lives as I rush through my own mad, crazy world? Did I smile this morning as I pushed through the crowd of people at Walmart, or did I look like I was about to growl? Did I take enough time with my Mom this morning? Did I listen close enough to my friend on the phone? Whether we want to or not, we do shape and change people’s lives around us. I know that just this last year, there have been a couple of people that have changed the way I look at things, and helped give me a fresh passion for service and ministry in my church. But it doesn’t stop at church…it has to spill over into our everyday life…that passion should be seen by all that know us. That passion should lead every spoken word, every facial expression, every loving touch.

One of the loneliest thoughts I’ve ever had is that we are the only Christ some people will ever see or know. That thought in its self should inspire something in the hearts of Christians. We know His presence. We know His touch. We know His voice, His call. We know that like a child we can climb into Jesus lap and lay down to cry anytime we need Him…and He will sing our sorrows away. He is merely a thought away. Most people in this world do not know or even comprehend what I just said. So it matters that you say Merry Christmas and not Happy Holidays. It matters that you smiled and said hello to that grumpy, made up lady cutting you off in store traffic. It matters that you listen with purpose to the lonely guy that talks forever and ever. And it matters that you cried with a friend, or sang with JOY to your children. It matters that you share your love in Christ through your actions and your words. You may never know how, but every person you meet is shaped and changed by you in some way.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.