Pass it on...

Today's devotions included a discussion about passing things on to others and recently, I have been thinking about the special importance that this has especially for family, but also for all of those who cross our paths in our life experience.

Nicky Gumbell talks about Telling, Training, and Teaching and the life-changing influence of others upon his life, those, who mentored and encouraged him along the way. He credits them for helping to shape who he is today. 

Let's face it, life is full of opportunities to do things to bless other people and perhaps even unknowingly to help shape another person's life...and looking back, there may be times that we wish that we had done things differently, having missed those opportunities.

Looking at our past, we can often recount with certainty, those things which we think influenced who we are today.  Each one of us needs to fill in our own blanks, and going forward, we can assess how best to Pass it on to others, both family and friends, and making a difference in the lives of those who live-on long after us.

Let's assess some of those life-changing contributors... I'll do it here, but later, I would encourage you to do this as well... In my life, here are some of the things that I think/know were contributors in helping shape who I am today... 

• my mother who washed my mouth out with a bar of soap (as a 5 year old, I think I used the "S" word...referring to somebody as an "S"pot; I threw-up all over my mother's dress just before she and dad were going out to celebrate their anniversary dinner; come-on, that was almost 70 years ago! cut me some slack!)...
• my retired neighbor, George, who let me turn the crank on his blacksmith forge blower in his garage workshop, as a curious 7 year old boy...
• my dad, who always taught me that 'if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well!'...
• my dad, who forgave my debt and stuffed the $41.08 paper route earnings back into my shirt pocket, after I paid him back for my 3 speed bike...
• my mother, who told me 'if you can't say anything nice about somebody, don't say anything at all'...
• my then girlfriend to be, Kathie, who instantly changed who I was, just by sitting across from me in the high school band; I became a stricken pursuer of a life-long mate...
• my friend/pastor Mick, who told me 'it's all about relationship' and has proved it ongoing...
• my friend Dick, a man of integrity, whose entire life was an example of a Christian dad, leader, and husband...
• my Granddaughter Madison, who encouraged me to keep at it with my BLOG...
• my Niece's husband, Dan, who loaded his SUV and drove an hour to deliver oak logs to me for use in my wood-working hobby...
• my co-worker Sandra, who purchased some fine cloth and sewed me several hankies as a gift...(13 years later, still using them and thinking of her)
• my former boss, Walt, who taught me 'truth is victory'...
• my former vice-president boss, Pat, who helped/made me use my God-given talents to help others (I had the best job in the company!)...
• the many former friends/employees of Chrysler and General Dynamics, who were part of my 38 years prior to retirement...
• my former pastor Jim, who told me 'from prayer comes action'...
• this same pastor, who hugged me in total silence for what probably was several minutes, while I sobbed grieving over the loss of my Grandmother moments earlier in the hospital IC unit (It was early evening and I had just returned to the church from the hospital and was praying alone, when Jim entered the sanctuary from a side door and began lighting the altar candles in preparation for an evening candlelight service; he turned and saw me sitting alone in the empty sanctuary; upon asking me how my Grandmother was, I totally broke down and sobbed uncontrollably; Jim came down to where I was sitting; He bent over and hugged me; not a word was spoken...just me sobbing...and Jim hugging and sharing my pain in that moment in silent prayer; God truly showed me LOVE through the silence...through my pastor, a truly life-changing event in my walk with God).
• pastor Garry, who organized our church Stephen Ministry at a time when I felt God's calling as a retired trainer to help new Stephen Ministers...
• my children and grandchildren, whose ongoing love of dad/grandpa excites me to seek God's continuing guidance in how to pass it on ongoing...
• and finally, recognizing that our life is continuously changing, my wife, Kathie, who once again this past Father's Day, gave me the most wonderful card...'For my Husband - a Wonderful Man of Faith...(and so many nice things about a 'man who loves the Lord')...and she closes with a note stating 'This card says it all, except that I love you...Leen' WOW!

As I have shared above, there are many life experiences, both small and some huge, which shape our lives. Bottom line, family, friends and a love-relationship with God will shape who you are as a person! I'm sure that I could think of numerous other examples of things/experiences, which I could add to this list and I am sure you could do the same! So let's resolve today to acknowledge the blessings, which we receive ongoing...but more importantly, let's resolve to use our God-given talents and gifts to be a blessing to others, who cross our path in our life journeys...PASS IT ON...