Do you realize how much influence you have to change the people’s lives around you?
Every Friday I like to post a quick, 400-word inspirational thought to take you through the weekend. And today’s is about recognizing the influence we have–and using it!
Sheila’s Marriage Moment: Be a ChangeMaker!
Yesterday morning I was browsing on Twitter when I saw a tweet that made me feel so much lighter.
Some people make the lives of others better. They are leaders. Others talk about making peoples’ lives better. They are politicians.
— Richard Blackaby (@richardblackaby) August 3, 2016
Why did that tweet have that effect? It’s because I’m a political junkie. And I spend far too much time reading news and listening to news and obsessing over news, especially around election time. It gets my stomach in knots. It raises my blood pressure. And I keep thinking: “Why don’t people just UNDERSTAND this the way I do?!?”
But when I read that tweet, I think God whispered something to me in my angst. He said, “I have given you the chance to be a real woman of influence in the people’s lives around you. And the influence that you can have, if you run with the gifts I’ve given you, is far greater than any politician.”
And it’s true, isn’t it? The way we treat our kids will impact them far more than income tax rates or wars or terrorism or even Supreme Court justice picks because the influence we have is eternal. The way we treat our husbands will influence our families, our neighbourhoods, and our churches even more than any policy about transgendered bathrooms or NSA spying techniques. That’s not to say that politics doesn’t matter; only that we should understand that in the lives of the people closest to us, we are more powerful than any president or prime minister.
I wrote a post a while ago about spending time in our sphere of influence. The more emotional energy, time and prayer that we put into the people and things that we can influence, the greater our influence grows. But so many of us spend most of our emotional energy obsessing over things over which we have no control. We worry about layoffs at work or bad corporate policies. We worry about politics. We even worry about church politics! And we talk and talk and talk and we miss out on opportunities to build relationships and build character in us and those around us.
When you choose to love; when you choose to forgive; when you choose to pray, to say a kind word, to step outside your comfort zone and participate in something that someone you love enjoys–you change the dynamics in your relationship. That changes your family. And when we do that, we really do have the ability to change the world of the people around us.
God gave you more power and influence than you may be believe.
So be a Change Maker, and spend your time and energy changing your corner of the world by letting God’s Spirit work through you.
Sheila Wray Gregoire has been married for 27 years and happily married for 22! She loves traveling around North America with her hubby in their RV, giving her signature "Girl Talk" about sex and marriage. And she's written 8 books. About sex and marriage. See a theme here? Plus she knits. Even in line at the grocery store.
This is so timely. I want change. I know it must change. I know I have the power to change myself and the ability to influence my family. Where I am getting stuck is dealing with the exhausting oppression of the stuff I cannot change. So, I get overwhelmed and stressed and react or withdraw and the cycle continues. Or I get push back and it gets worse and I just don’t have it in me to fight anymore. It isn’t just emotional. I am talking physical well-being affected by the stress. It is like asking someone with a broken leg to chase after their dog who keeps getting loose despite fixing the fence daily.
That’s so hard! You know what? Sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to take a step back and say, “I can’t do this anymore.” And really ask for help. Maybe you just need some distance for a few hours, or some time to yourself, or someone to step in and help you. I know it’s hard to ask for help, but sometimes we really have to because stress does get to be too much!
Thank you, Sheila. I have asked for help, but no one yet is willing or able to give me the help I need. Hiring help is out of the question because part of the oppression is the massive medical related debt we are in.
God can answer prayers, though, so now that this post has been a catalyst in realizing what I posted here, I can pray to that end.
And THIS is the only political piece I’m sharing on Facebook this year. In case anyone hadn’t noticed, it’s ugly in the US right now. But this could be the silver lining.
Thank you!
That’s how I’m feeling right now! I haven’t looked at the news in 19 hours and counting…. (and I’ve gotten so much more done, too! 🙂
Yes, it’s so easy to get sucked into whatever the media wants to feed us. I need to unplug frequently or my whole day goes by without feeling like I spent it wisely.
The Olympics are on! Soooooo much better than news or politics!
Amen Sheila! Thanks so much for this timely reminder and encouragement! I will no doubt, read this a few more times before the US presidential election. My moods have been affected by the latest political news – of which I am watching and reading way too much lately – which is played out here in the home. The state of your home often reflects the state of your heart (paraphrasing a wise friend), and my heart has been worried, mad, disillusioned, etc., and it needs to stop! I simply have too much to do, and at middle age, very limited energy!
Thanks again for another great post!
Michelle