I was thinking about how a bunch of things that appeared to be very minor in the grand scheme, turned out to have a huge impact on my life. Looking back, you can see the patterns and how people and situations were placed that contributed to your current circumstance. I've always said that you never know if something you say or do will have a big impact. You don't know if that one moment you listened or lent a helping hand meant anything. In fact you may even have forgotten you did something, but the one you positively impacted didn't. God's plans come to fruition in all the small things.
Take, for instance, my marriage to Susan. Yes, we met and fell in love. However, lots of little decisions made by us and those around us placed us in the environment for us to meet.
The easy answer to why my wife and I are married is because of God. That God positioned all the events and players over the years to lead to that moment still amazes me. Sometimes, I wonder if it were even possible to make a different choice at all. Possibly could, but I think things would have still ended up the same way. God's plans come to fruition, despite our best efforts otherwise.
Looking back, I can see various events that led me on the path of meeting my future wife. Becoming involved with my church youth group was possibly the first step. It started me on my walk of faith that continued into college. There, a friend of mine named Art, invited me to a meeting for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. His willingness to invite me continued my walk. My involvement with Intervarsity would lead to long-lasting friendships. Two of whom were Steve and Angela. Angela was the one who first invited me to go to a service at the Vineyard Church of Columbus. I would remain involved with that church until I moved back to Cleveland for my career. There wasn't a Vineyard church nearby to me there, so I went back to my former church.
Even so, a dozen years later, I had some issues with my church and was looking to leave. A Vineyard church had been planted in the meantime but didn't seem to be convenient as it was far away. When I started to look again, there was a Vineyard church not more than 20 minutes away. I decided to contact my old friends Steve & Angela, who had helped plant this church to get their opinion. I found out after a couple of weeks, that Steve and Angela had planted a church which was closer to my house. I decided that I would take a leap of faith and go to a church that I did not know anyone but Steve and Angela.
Previous to the church plant in Brecksville, Susan had been offered a full-time position at the Vineyard she was in. She, instead, decided to move to Brecksville to lead the children's ministry.
Looking back at all these "minor" events - if any decision had been made differently - it could have taken both of our lives on a different course. What if Art didn't bother to invite me? Or, Angela not inviting me to church? What if I said "no"? What if Susan had chosen to take the full-time position?
Would we have met? What would our lives now look like if we even changed one decision? Would we have gotten together? Thankfully, we will never know the answer to those questions. Events went the way that was meant to occur, and Susan and I have been married six years.
It reminds me of how we affect other even people even with the slightest of gestures. Our impact on each other doesn't have to be large scale or even memorable to us. It is in those little moments where we might have the most impact. And, people remember those little moments. I am sure the people I mentioned above don't remember how much of an impact they have had on my life. Just as there are people in Susan's life who have done the same for her. But, we remember them.
Sometimes, we are not called to a harvest each and every time. I used to struggle when I would pray for others if there wasn't a spontaneous healing or a person coming to Christ. Those are cool moments and it would probably be encouraging if it happened every time. Yet, God places us in position for different times in peoples' lives.
God plants the seed. Sometimes, we are called to help till the ground, water the plants, or do some weeding. There are things that we do that we wont see the end result for. Do you think those who planted the seeds of trees tended for it early and got to see the end result? No, yet their actions led to a magnificent tree. In a different way, this is how it works with witnessing and evangelism. God does all the work, but he allows us in on the process. From the planting of the seed until the harvest. There are different steps and different people take part in different stages.
My encouragement to you is to keep striving to do good. Be there for those around you. As others were there for you during your life. If you think back on the major moments of your life, you are sure to remember those other moments that led to the big moments. Our marriage didn't happen magically in one moment. It was a series of events that led us on the path to each other. Some happened to us individually and others when we were together. Each person involved in our lives added to that special moment. God places people and events for a reason.
So, don't be discouraged. We all play a role and touch each person we come in contact with. It's been said to me on more than one occasion that we may be the only time in a day another person sees Jesus. It doesn't have to be preaching, praying, or teaching. It can just be a smile, a hug, an invite, a shoulder to cry on, or just listening. You may think these gestures are little, but they can impact someone's lifetime.
Take, for instance, my marriage to Susan. Yes, we met and fell in love. However, lots of little decisions made by us and those around us placed us in the environment for us to meet.
The easy answer to why my wife and I are married is because of God. That God positioned all the events and players over the years to lead to that moment still amazes me. Sometimes, I wonder if it were even possible to make a different choice at all. Possibly could, but I think things would have still ended up the same way. God's plans come to fruition, despite our best efforts otherwise.
Looking back, I can see various events that led me on the path of meeting my future wife. Becoming involved with my church youth group was possibly the first step. It started me on my walk of faith that continued into college. There, a friend of mine named Art, invited me to a meeting for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. His willingness to invite me continued my walk. My involvement with Intervarsity would lead to long-lasting friendships. Two of whom were Steve and Angela. Angela was the one who first invited me to go to a service at the Vineyard Church of Columbus. I would remain involved with that church until I moved back to Cleveland for my career. There wasn't a Vineyard church nearby to me there, so I went back to my former church.
Even so, a dozen years later, I had some issues with my church and was looking to leave. A Vineyard church had been planted in the meantime but didn't seem to be convenient as it was far away. When I started to look again, there was a Vineyard church not more than 20 minutes away. I decided to contact my old friends Steve & Angela, who had helped plant this church to get their opinion. I found out after a couple of weeks, that Steve and Angela had planted a church which was closer to my house. I decided that I would take a leap of faith and go to a church that I did not know anyone but Steve and Angela.
Previous to the church plant in Brecksville, Susan had been offered a full-time position at the Vineyard she was in. She, instead, decided to move to Brecksville to lead the children's ministry.
Looking back at all these "minor" events - if any decision had been made differently - it could have taken both of our lives on a different course. What if Art didn't bother to invite me? Or, Angela not inviting me to church? What if I said "no"? What if Susan had chosen to take the full-time position?
Would we have met? What would our lives now look like if we even changed one decision? Would we have gotten together? Thankfully, we will never know the answer to those questions. Events went the way that was meant to occur, and Susan and I have been married six years.
It reminds me of how we affect other even people even with the slightest of gestures. Our impact on each other doesn't have to be large scale or even memorable to us. It is in those little moments where we might have the most impact. And, people remember those little moments. I am sure the people I mentioned above don't remember how much of an impact they have had on my life. Just as there are people in Susan's life who have done the same for her. But, we remember them.
Sometimes, we are not called to a harvest each and every time. I used to struggle when I would pray for others if there wasn't a spontaneous healing or a person coming to Christ. Those are cool moments and it would probably be encouraging if it happened every time. Yet, God places us in position for different times in peoples' lives.
God plants the seed. Sometimes, we are called to help till the ground, water the plants, or do some weeding. There are things that we do that we wont see the end result for. Do you think those who planted the seeds of trees tended for it early and got to see the end result? No, yet their actions led to a magnificent tree. In a different way, this is how it works with witnessing and evangelism. God does all the work, but he allows us in on the process. From the planting of the seed until the harvest. There are different steps and different people take part in different stages.
My encouragement to you is to keep striving to do good. Be there for those around you. As others were there for you during your life. If you think back on the major moments of your life, you are sure to remember those other moments that led to the big moments. Our marriage didn't happen magically in one moment. It was a series of events that led us on the path to each other. Some happened to us individually and others when we were together. Each person involved in our lives added to that special moment. God places people and events for a reason.
So, don't be discouraged. We all play a role and touch each person we come in contact with. It's been said to me on more than one occasion that we may be the only time in a day another person sees Jesus. It doesn't have to be preaching, praying, or teaching. It can just be a smile, a hug, an invite, a shoulder to cry on, or just listening. You may think these gestures are little, but they can impact someone's lifetime.
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