Recently, I was watching an anime about this very longed-lived elf. As lore goes, elves can live for several thousand years. As such, elves do not generally form deep relationships with humans, who live such short lives by comparison. This aloof elf went on a 10-year quest with 3 other companions, remarking that the quest did not last even 1/1000th of her life. Yet poignantly, one of them remarked that despite the “short time” they spent together, their relationships with one another have “changed her” – forever.

This made me reflect on the people who have impacted my life: my childhood Sunday school teacher, my college mentor, friends who have briefly intersected their lives with mine, and those whose lives are still interwoven in the fabric of my life. Many of those encounters were truly brief, relative to the entirety of my life, while some lasted a few years, and others, just for a season. Yet they have impacted my faith, my life, my outlook, and my character deeply. God, working through them, altered the trajectory of my life.

We all have opportunities to make such impacts on others if we allow the Holy Spirit to move us and use us. We might say we don’t have enough time. Or, what’s the point when it may only be for a season? They may move away or pass away – or I might. But you never know how God might use you. It might be just the right time and the right place for that person, or for you. The ripple effect may go far beyond what you could see or imagine. Look for those opportunities. Engage with others. From those relationships.

Faith to Faith, Life to Life, Generation to Generation