Updated: May 27, 2020
From the moment of the first beat of our hearts (and sometimes even before) to eternity we begin to touch lives and they begin to touch ours. Our time here on this side of heaven is ever so important for the glory of our Lord. As he molds us and makes us he constantly uses us and the others that he places on our journeys back to his side.
You may not even realize how much you are being affected by those around you. Because we come across others in different seasons of their lives and ours in a split moment in time and could result in lessons that could have been missed if we weren't paying attention. I believe if we thought about it we would realize how much hindsight would reveal about the timing of many of the most important touches in our lives.
The most important touch is, of course, our Lord Jesus. His free gift of salvation is the touch that seals our eternity. (For more - https://www.msangieslifetime.com/follow-jesus ) If we have already accepted the Lords' free gift, then we have a bigger responsibility to make sure that our touches to others reveal his everlasting grace. We should hope to always reach the reachable, teach the teachable, and win the winnable. And by being his ambassador we are touching heaven in a way that we may not ever fully understand until we arrive.
I make an effort every day to value every moment that God gives me. I take the time when I meet someone to smile and make sure that I leave a smile on their faces. A simple gesture of holding a door or providing a meal for someone in need can leave a lasting feeling of joy and appreciation. I look for Christ in the moment and long to see him at work. I often prefer to be the one blessing others, and not so much on the receiving end. I am a nurturer and I like taking care of people but not being taken care of. My strength and my weaknesses often walk the same road.
I dread to say that there have been moments in my life where I have not left that lasting impression of joy and peace. And too many moments in my life where I let others touch discourage me or cause fear in my heart of not being accepted as God made me. I am reminded of how all too human I am and just how often I fall short, but even in these moments, I find God's grace and forgiveness, and I am reminded that he made me just the way I am and that my journey is His story for my life. But I continue to rest of the word of God to carry me in the places where I cannot walk alone.
1 Peter 5:2-3 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
Dear Lord, as time ticks through this journey that you have planned for me I ask that you will keep me and guide me as I touch others and they touch me. I ask for your blessings in my life and for the grace and mercy needed to endure that which I feel I cannot obtain. It is my deepest desire that others will always see you through me in every way possible.
