The Grateful Journal Series
The people in our lives make the biggest impacts, often more than events and circumstances. God places them there to help guide, nurture, teach, influence, and inspire us. Some are there to test our character, while others are there to test our faith.
As iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17
Without a doubt, for many of us, family is the most important. Our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, husbands and wives, and children. But even outside family members, the people we cross paths with, whether fleeting or long-term, have a way of leaving a lasting impression.
I’ll never forget my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Shockley. I don’t remember what she looked like or anything she ever said to me, but to this day, I remember how much I liked her. I still think of the church bus driver, CJ, who always had donuts for us kids when he’d pick us up for Sunday School in the eggshell-blue bus. And I’ll never forget a friend’s grandmother who loved Jesus so much that, to this day, I still think about how much like Christ she tried to be.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2
My dad was very dear to me when I was a little girl, but we lost touch after my parents’ divorce, and he moved away, and our bond was broken. My mom became dearer to me as I got older and could better understand and appreciate all she went through to raise my brothers and me as a single parent. My maternal grandparents were the most influential people in my life, and my three children were the most precious. Finally, in my husband, God sent me the love I’d longed for since I was a little girl.
To finish reading this post and get future posts sent to your inbox, subscribe to my Substack, UNTET | HERED.
