The Lord’s been dealing with me for a week to write about “It’s not what you do, it’s who you are”… I know this morning that someone out there needs to hear this because he keeps giving me relevant illustrations and yesterday, when I thought I was just going to Pie-o-logy for lunch? I see this on the wall… I leave you with this thought – “How will you impact someone’s life today?”

A couple weeks ago I was in Jungle Jim’s and the woman at the register was talking to the customers in front of me – yes it slowed down the line a bit – (but come on, only like 2 minutes in the big scheme of things, and we all waste at least 2 minutes a day on trivial stuff so let’s be patient when it’s the good stuff…) anyway, I heard her say to the girl bagging the groceries, almost as if to apologize, “I bet people get tired of me being so friendly and talking so much…” I smiled at her to reassure her that I was not frustrated. As she started scanning my items I said to her “Don’t ever stop being so friendly … the Lord has a purpose for each one of us and it’s obvious that he’s using you here. Never underestimate the power you have by sharing a smile or kind word with someone.” I went on to tell her about an experience I had last year in a grocery store… “I was in a hurry, running late, and the one item I needed? There was an older man standing in front of it. I started to get impatient and frustrated and the Lord quickly snatched me up and said “Look closely”.. I noticed just a few small items in his cart, I noticed the sadness in his eyes… so I settled myself down and spent a moment being kind. Speaking to him about the water I was going to purchase, etc. As I started to walk away, he said “Thank you for taking the time to speak to me. It’s been almost a year since my wife has been gone and I don’t think I’ve had anyone speak to me in a few months…it’s been a bit lonely.” My heart broke in two, I thanked God for the spiritual spanking he gave me that day when I was so worried about getting my bottled water and getting to the event on time.” As I shared that story, the cashier started to cry (as well as the girl bagging) and she said “Oh thank you for sharing that…” And I hope the lady behind me getting frustrated that I was holding up the line heard it as well.

We often get the incorrect impression that we have to have some big grandioso moment to change the world. But in fact? It’s one small act of kindness at a time. It’s walking in Love and looking around us and listening for that still small voice to guide us.

It’s not about what we do for a living – but who we are as we live..