He changed the whole course of her life as well as the direction of so many other lives. What could she do to thank him and show him how much it meant? She wrote his biography, sharing the good that he did in the town—starting an orphanage and ensuring that each orphan was able to attend college, fully paid. This biography immortalized both my aunt, the author, who lived to be 100, as well as Charles Page whom she wrote about. They will live forever in the hearts of our townspeople.
A Legacy in Ink
Most of us writers and speakers feel a calling and a compulsion to share our words with the world. In that unction is a little desire for immortality if we’re honest. Most of us realize that even though we will move on from this earth someday, our words will live on, changing lives long after we’re gone. Anyway, that’s our hope. We want to create something that
The truth is that most of us will never be a Lewis, Dickens, or Ingalls, at least not the famous ones. However, each of us, in God giving us these platforms, has an opportunity to make an eternal difference each time we take the stage or write a book —not through the speech or pages but through the face-to-face encounters we have because of these opportunities.
The Calling Beyond Our Words
We had a booth at an event, and a young mom came by our table. She burst into tears. She had recently decided to follow Christ and was heartbroken because she felt it was too late to disciple her children. We ministered, assuring her that the children would see the change in her life and her joy for the Lord. We prayed with her and shared resources and as many encouraging words as we could in those few short minutes.
As we talked, I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to get her to commit to talk to me the next evening. If I could get her to agree to that, she wouldn’t hurt herself. She finally agreed. Our whole team prayed for her that night. The next day, she was more hopeful and gave up the idea of taking her own life. We kept in contact, and she grew into a strong woman of faith.
I could share many stories like these with you, and you could share yours with me. These are the places where we touch eternity. The people we connect with face-to-face are where we are truly immortalized as they are for us. We can touch eternity and make eternal differences by taking the time to touch a life.
The Time Is Now
In the Bible, when Esther was given the unexpected role as queen and had the opportunity to speak up and change history, her uncle Mordecai said, “Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NLT). I feel like the Holy Spirit is saying something similar to us: “Who knows if perhaps you were given this opportunity to write and speak to so many people so that you can touch a single life after the speech is done or after you’ve signed her book.”
Our truest calling is to touch lives and minister to those in need—to touch eternity by seizing the divine encounters we have with one another.
Defining Moments
In my books about discipling our children, I often talk about grasping teachable and defining moments. Those are the divine appointments when our children’s hearts are ready to learn or our words help them understand who they are. We have these opportunities every time we talk with people at every event whether they buy a book or not.
Terrie Hellard-Brown’s books include Building Character through Picture Books and A World of Pancakes. Her writing appears in Starlight Magazine, Upper Room, and Inspire Christian Writers.
