Influence

Influence. A tricky topic. Who has influence over my life? A few people have influenced it. Lots of friends do, some brave people do.

An amazing lady named Sally influenced me and continues to influence me today. She was an amazing lady of God, with such a strong faith and so much love for all those around her. The way she dealt with the things life threw at her with such dignity and grace was humbling, especially as she walked constantly in God's love.

People can influence us positively or negatively. I don't want to waste precious minutes writing about the negative but it can be a strong influence in our lives.

Where I am now I have an influence on the lives of young people. Working in a high school, I meet a lot of young people every day. They are working out who they are, what their identity is and where their place is in life. They have lot of strong influences over them. When one young person today told me they felt better when they came for counselling just because someone really listened, that showed the influence a listening ear can have.

Listening, really listening is so powerful. It is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give to someone. For me, I'm not always the greatest listener but in my job I hope I am good at it. I don't tell the kids I work with what to do (or not do really!), but I hope the fact someone listens has a positive influence.

So think today what power the words you speak and actions you do  have over someone's life. Will it be a positive influence? I hope so.