“You never know…… We have been going to the same restaurant for many years and a worker there often commented about being scared to be married. This morning, we were complemented to hear her say that because she had been watching us, she decided it was OK to get married. She announced her engagement to us today. You never know how you are going to impact someone's life, just by living your own.”
After I posted the above paragraph on Facebook, people posted some additional comments and scriptures which led to more reflection.
- Matthew 5:16- “Let your light so shine before men, that they may…glorify your Father in Heaven.”
- “Living your life out loud”
- “People are watching how you live life. 1 Peter 2:16 – Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
Nobody said it, but I thought it: What if We’d Been Fighting? What if We'd Been Looking At Our Phones and Ignoring Each Other? What if We’d Been Calling Each Other Down and Acting Disrespectfully?
Like most couples, we’ve been guilty of those things in our marriage; I doubt there’s a perfect relationship on the face of the earth. But, what if we had done those things in the restaurant? Would that worker still have a bad feeling about marriage? I bet she would have. Would she have changed her perspective, then changed her plans for her own life? Possibly.
Because here’s a truth I know -- every choice you make changes the road you are on and sets your direction. And how often do our choices affect the choices made by others? Probably more than we realize. We won’t always be told that we’ve impacted someone’s life. But we do.
My husband and I have been Christians most of our lives, and we even work in a church! So we’re expected, and we expect of ourselves, to lead by exemplary example there. It’s not just leaders, however who look good at church! Most people have a “Sunday-go-to-meeting” outfit and a “Sunday-go-to-meeting” outlook.
Often, however, we don’t think about our behavior at the grocery store, a football game or at a local restaurant.
What if someone is watching us there? What if what you do Monday through Friday is being observed by your co-workers? You can bet it is!
We impact others’ lives, just by living our own.