Who’s on your list?
By Charles Christian
I think most of us could set aside one minute to make a list of the most influential people in our lives. Go ahead and try it.
The list would probably include relatives, teachers, close friends and maybe even co-workers. Most or all of these people likely would not be famous in the traditional sense of the word. Most of them probably have never made the newspaper or an appearance on the big screen. In fact, I would guess that nearly all of the people on that list would not be very well known outside of a small circle of people. How am I doing so far?
Here are a few other things I know about the people who made your list, even though chances are good that I don’t personally know many or any of them.
First, they took time to make sure you knew you were important to them. Second, they extend love, acceptance and compassion toward you consistently. Also, most of them likely sacrificed at least once so that you could receive care.
Of course, I don’t know all of these things because I have some special psychic powers (I do not). I know these things because I have a list like that. My list has grown over the years, and my list of life-changing influencers shares the characteristics I just described.
Over and over again, characteristics like compassion, sacrifice, extra time and unconditional love turn ordinary people into life-changers. Far too often, we don’t stop long enough to remember them or to thank God for them. We should, though. Without them, life would be so much darker, colder and even more dangerous for us. Because of them, life is filled with moments of peace and grace.
As you are looking over that list, how about taking the time to reach out to those who are still with us and say thanks? Also, maybe we can take the time to pray about ways we can become the kind of caring people who make the same kind of impact in someone else’s life. We don’t have to have great power or wealth to do this. We just have to take time and care.
That’s what the best lists are made of.
