Sometimes we forget the influence we can have on others. The least little thing you say can be remembered by someone. My parents died over 30 years ago, but to this day I can still remember things they said to me during a difficult time, or as words of encouragement, or just funny sayings. Being from the south, they had a million little sayings. One of my dad’s sayings I can still hear to this day is, “That boy is educated way beyond his intelligence.” That was usually aimed at politicians.
What’s my point in all of this? Well, when a student comes to you in a time of crisis, big or small, what you say to them will probably stay with them and be used again and again…if you say the right thing. Once you give advice that helps a student during a time of need, they will remember that in the future. I think that even if it does not have a significant impact on them at the time, they will hopefully, remember the advice you just gave them.
I had a real-life example of this recently. A few weeks ago during a tough time with a medical issue, when I was talking to Steven about feeling kind of down, he made a comment to me. “What would you tell the students in your small group if they were going through this situation?” My answer was, “I’d ask them are they going to worry or worship? Worry won’t fix anything; worship will bring peace of mind and help from God.”
Last night during some more bad news, I could hear Steven’s voice in my head…”“What would you tell the students in your small group if they were going through this situation?” So my way of dealing with last night’s news was to go have a quiet time, get in the Word, and talk to God. Within a short time I put the bad news behind me, shut off the light and sleep very well.
Little words can have a big impact on students!
