Influence ~ Stephanie Flesher
Influence…to do good… or to do bad.
Influence…to learn a specific skill…or not to learn it.
Influence…to cut your hair a certain way… or NOT cut your hair a certain way. J
Influence comes from many different sources and in many different packages. I had the opportunity to grow up under Bro. Hyles and attend First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. My mother taught at Hyles-Anderson College since I was two years old which has allowed me to learn and know of hundreds of individual college students growing up. I have also taught and have been in the ministry for over twenty years. I can easily say I have had thousands of people influence me.
I am a people watcher. J I don’t stalk people… lol…but I observe a lot. In and of itself, observing other people does not always give us completely accurate ways to know and learn things, but it does have a heavy impact on our every day life and decisions. I remember watching all of my older siblings and their friends. As the youngest, I wanted to be cool like them. I didn’t follow them around, but thought it was neat when they paid attention to me. I would sometimes try a hair style or an outfit that I saw one of the older girls wear. Over the years, I watched those older than I to see how their lives panned out. It helped me see down the road how my life might end up if I made the same decisions…good or bad.
My family has had a major impact on me. Growing up, my dad worked on a bus route in the Hessville part of Hammond for over 25 years. Every Sunday, my oldest sister and I would try to get ready in time to leave with him to ride the bus: I wanted to be with my dad and to be like my sister. I would go bus visiting with my mother or teen soul winning every Saturday. I learned how to tell others about Christ. I learned different approaches to sharing the Gospel so that a person could understand. My mother is an excellent teacher. I often look back now as an adult and see how my mother crafted a situation to teach us a lesson or get a point across. I observed her quiet mannerisms and her willingness to jump in and help us learn how to make a spectacular display for our science fairs or research projects or drive me to the many thousands of places while I was at home. She gave me a love to read! She often read books to us while growing up which gave me many life lessons from the books she chose. But together, my parents taught me to love the Lord and what a joy it was to serve Him!
My siblings each have had a direct impact on my life by their treatment of me and of others. Many a time as the youngest, I would be a “pest” to my siblings…lol… but they each made it evident in their own way that they loved me. One brother has been the perfect example of “big brother” by looking out for me and helping me in my times of need. The other brother is quiet and reserved, but has shown me how to cherish and love my family. One sister was very loving and accepting of me and my antics; the other sister was firm and made sure to show and teach me when I was wrong. I look back and feel that God allowed me to have my siblings in order to balance me out! J
My mother would often come home from teaching at Hyles-Anderson College and tell stories about the students and the events that took place in her classroom, in the chapel, or in the ministries. I was always impressed with the Bible college students. I watched them at church and how they took care of their bus kids; I watched how the college girls did their hair and make-up and how they dressed; I watched how the college students dated. I watched them as they sang in groups at the church or on tour. I watched how they went soul winning and brought rough bus
kids from the ghettos of Chicago and then watched as those kids started to learn how to live Godly lives and be refined.
In my own personal experience growing up in Hammond Baptist Schools and Hyles-Anderson College, I watched my teachers and student teachers. I watched how they made each of their students feel loved while teaching them also of Christ’s love and the school topic they were assigned to teach. I watched how those teachers faced their own personal trials and difficult times and how to trust the Lord each step of the way. I learned how to read my Bible every day. I learned how to love others. I learned how to pass on information. I learned how to speak. I learned how to sing. I learned how to work hard. I learned different skills at various times.
My friends have had an impact on me. In junior high, I had three friends with whom I spent a lot of time at school. Two of them came from broken homes and would talk about what went on at home… as a result, I learned things I wish I had never learned or heard. In my high school years, God broke me and brought me back to Him. I began to pray for a “bosom friend” that would help me honor God and live for Him, and God brought that friend to me during my senior year of high school. Since then, God has brought many friends across my path that have influenced me for a season, for “such a time as this”, or continuously to this day.
I have been blessed…
…And I owe a debt.
As an adult, I have now had over twenty years serving in a plethora of ministries such as Sunday schools, bus routes, Sunday afternoon programs for teen girls, orchestra, jail ministry, discipleship, and many others. I have had the opportunity to teach college students and teens and children alike.
Influence…to live a life for God… or to live a life following personal pursuits.
YOU have an influence. I believe our lives should be spent learning and growing in our personal walk with God and our Bible reading so that we can have the opportunity to influence a life for Christ. Every day we cross paths with scores of people. Depending upon your location, your daily person count might be lower, but you will always influence someone.
Sometimes your influence is in teaching a young person how to figure out a math problem. (The whole book of Numbers show that numbers are important to God; J Psalm 139:17-18; Job 31:4; Matthew 16:9; Mark 10:29-30)
Sometimes your influence is in teaching a young person how to work. (Proverbs 22:6)
Sometimes your influence is how you treat a difficult person. (Proverbs 15:1; Ephesians 4:32)
Sometimes your influence is fulfilling a need. (Galatians 6:2)
Sometimes your influence is sharing a timely Scripture to bring understanding, comfort, or chastisement. (Proverbs 27:17; I Peter 2:12)
Sometimes it is simply showing up. (Hebrews 10:25) I remember as a teenager rolling my eyes at something my parents would teach or tell me only to go to church and a Sunday school teacher, youth pastor, or my pastor teaches on that very subject that reinforced what my parents just told me… all because my spiritual leader showed up and my parents showed up (with me) to church.
Sometimes it is to be the example of how to go through a trial. (Job 23:10)
Sometimes it is to be the salt and light of the world and using your influence for Him so that others can see Him. (Matthew 5:13-16)
So often, we think we are insignificant and do not have much to offer the “next generation.” We think we might be “too old fogy” for the younger kids or cannot relate to a different culture. We think we do not have enough financial status to help out or spend money on an activity or church program. We think we do not know enough to teach a class. We think someone is not interested in Spiritual things.
But realize how much you are influenced by other people. There is a kind word, a note, a few dollars, a quiet seat prize, an item sitting at your house that someone else can use, a follow-up visit, a hospital visit, a young person in need of help, a baby shower or bridal shower you can attend, a skill that you learned, a lesson you learned, and so much more that YOU CAN use to influence someone for Christ and to encourage to keep going.
Don’t ever undermine the God that created you and that He has a purpose for you to influence someone for Him! He is a perfect God Who made you to fulfill His purpose.