The Powerful Impact of a Life Well-Lived
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Remembering only fragments of a motivational speech stuck in my head from a decade prior, I reached out to see if coach could fill in the blanks for me. Though he wasn’t even my event coach, the little bouncing dots picked up right away as he responded:
The people in our lives are not coincidental, nor is our place in any of theirs. We serve an intentional God, who calls all of us irreplaceable. It’s incredible, the personal touch of the Creator of the Universe.
We all wake up to the opportunity to make an impact each day, just by being the irreplaceable people we were always meant to be, the people we are. It starts small, just by looking around, choosing to pay attention to people, and aiming to work hard at the things we are good at and passionate about. It’s never too late to make an impact on this earth. Brace for it. Walk into it. Do the work.
As a young high school and collegiate runner, I embraced the influence my coaches had on my life, far beyond the sport of distance running. God is able to work an unbelievable amount of good from the smallest of our efforts to do good. His love is an unstoppable force, and when it travels from one person to another, we have no time to brace for its impact. It changes us, whether we are ready for it or not, whether we are listening or not. Love seeps in and sticks to our bones.
We all have people who have impacted our lives in ways we can’t explain. The ones whose words, efforts, and love stuck to us, grew us, challenged us, and changed us. Glory to God, who places us all perfectly in each other’s lives. Thank the Lord, for the coaches who stuck with me while I attempted to figure out how to become a mature human.
Brace for impact.
Each day, we have the opportunity to be on the receiving and giving end of powerful Love.
Father,
Praise You for this day, our lives, and Your purposes for both. Father, it’s amazing, the way You purposefully place people in our lives, whose presence impacts us for a lifetime and beyond. How great are You, LORD, who knows our hearts completely, and is not only able, but willing, to provide for all of our needs. We were not meant to live life alone, but in community and fellowship with the people You place around us. Help us, Father, to embrace and see everyone the way You do. Bless our hearts and minds to remember all of the favorite quotes the mentors You place in our lives plant in our hearts. Father I lift up coach’s family, athletes, and friends to You, and ask You to comfort them, bring them peace, and let them feel the Your presence as they get used to life without their hero, mentor, father, and friend.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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What Does the Bible Say about Listening?
Don’t Stay Stuck on the Basics, but Move towards a Mature Faith
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