Small World, Big Impact: Amy

Yesterday I shared with you about my deep desire to be the best Bekah I can be...even if my circle of influence is tiny. Even if I never become a famous, best-selling author.

Many years ago...fourteen, to be exact...I wrote a "book" as a Christmas gift for my family. I had it printed at the school's print shop, and the title was Pieces of My Puzzle. I was in that awkward stage of trying to be seen and known as a grown-up instead of the little girl I had always been, and I hoped that through the words of the book, they would see my heart. One section of the book was about the very kind of people I described yesterday. Those who are probably {in most cases, anyway} not famous world-wide, but they had a marked impact on my world.

I thought I would share some of them with you over the next few weeks, both because I want to introduce you to some of these people who shaped me - some rather silently - but also because I want to challenge you to find these people in your own life and thank them for being that influence on you. And I'd love to challenge you to realize you are these people to those around you. You are making eternal impacts in ways you don't even realize.

So without further ado, I'd love you to meet Amy, as I wrote about her 14 years ago:

I have never seen her without a smile on her face. I don't know how many times I sat at the front desk in our office and waved to her as she walked by. She always waved and smiled right back at me. She remembered my name. I had been to her house a couple of times for home parties {as someone's guest}. Her home had always been very inviting, and you could feel a soft and natural peace and joy in that house - just from her presence there.

I remember during one of the parties, her husband came home. She still looked at him with a bride's smile, even though they had been married for a few years. Wow, I thought. He's lucky to have her. What a beautiful person to come home to every day. And you could tell just from looking at him that inside, he knew what a blessing God had given him.

At that same party, Amy let us peek into her wedding scrapbook. I flipped through it and found a letter she read to him at their wedding reception. I only read a couple of lines...it seemed to personal to read in full. But the words I saw, combined with the photo of her reading those words to him that day, showed me a depth of love I hope to someday have in my own marriage.

Everybody has bad days at work...days when the job stinks and you want out. Days when you don't feel good, and you'd rather be home in bed. Days when the weather dampens your spirits before you're even fully aware of what the weather is...but you know it's not good. But in all those days, I've never seen Amy down in the dumps. I gather that she must have bad days too...she is, of course, human. But that sweet smile that always stays on her face is something that inspires me to want to be more like her. Oh, I have smiles on my face a lot. But they're not always sincere, and once the person has passed by, my smile sometimes completely disappears.

Amy doesn't smile for effect. Her whole persona is a smile. A soft and genuine smile. She has a little baby now. I ran into her a few days after he was born, when she brought him to work to show him off. He was so tiny, fast asleep in the stroller. I asked her how she felt, and she just smiled and said, "I feel great! I was a little tired, but I feel good now." I asked if he was a good baby. She said, "Oh, he's a wonderful baby. He doesn't cry much at all." Of course not, I thought. He's got you for a mother. What more could a little baby want?

Amy, you didn't even know that I was watching all those times, but thank you for being a smiling example to me...an inspiration for my life. Thank you. And to your little son...your Mama is someone special. Watch her smile. Inherit that smile. Someday someone will notice, and you won't even know, but it will change that person's life.

***

Amy still lives around here, and she's a counselor now. She has the chance to impact many lives through counseling, but for me, the biggest impact was her smile and her joyful spirit toward her husband. And now that I have that husband I mentioned in what I wrote, I always hope he sees in me what Amy's husband saw in her.