Sippy Cups and Cheerios

There are signs that little people are staying at my house this week. Toys hang out on the floor overnight. Sippy cups, mixed with left over milk and a backwash of tiny Cheerio particles in the bottom, have taken up residence on my counter tops. An odor hovers over the kitchen trash can, a reminder that my granddaughter has a very healthy digestive tract!

Oh, how I love these little people! They definitely leave minor (and major) signs that they have been here. These little signs fill up my memory bank and make my heart ache for the next time they will come and do it all over again!

I wonder about the signs we leave behind as Christ followers. Signs that make strangers, family and friends wish we would come around more often. It’s the little things that add up to the big thing: the internal making of who we are and the opportunity to point to something…Someone bigger, better and beyond ourselves.

Not long ago I left town on a business trip and intentionally focused on what signs I would leave behind as a Christian with every encounter. Would it make a difference if I…

• Grabbed an extra paper towel for a lady in a wheelchair in the airport restroom so she wouldn’t drip water across her lap?  
• Initiated friendly conversation with others in the airport security line?
• Noticed people and actually looked them in the eye, as opposed to my usual navel-gazing iPhone activity?
• Asked the server at the airport restaurant how his day was going and took the time to be genuinely interested in his response?
• Allowed others to go in front of me in the boarding line?
• Graciously gave up the arm rest to the passenger next to me the entire flight?
• Smiled compassionately and spoke a word of encouragement to a young mother in the seat behind me whose toddler cried the entire trip and kicked my seat?

I share these as examples and reminders of the importance of being intentional about leaving His mark in the world, even in the simplest of ways. What we do and how we treat people actually matters. (Philippians 1:9-10 NLT)

Sometimes God calls us to serve at a deeper level – to come alongside others and become a meaningful part of their lives. He uses us to encourage others to grow in their walk with Christ. Look around you… ask God to show you who you need to serve. Plan to become a part of their lives, so that you can fulfill His call. (I Peter 4:10-11; Galatians 5:13-14; John 13:12-14)

We leave our mark in small and big ways, indifferent or influential, positive or negative. We can choose to point others to today’s version of ourselves, or we can point to the only One that can make an eternal difference in this harsh world.  Let’s submit to the Holy Spirit within us to influence in a Christ like, selfless way.

Let the signs we leave behind point to Jesus!

(John 15)

Jesus Joy….

Julie