Brief Touch, Lasting Impact

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

I was recently reminded of one of my "Most Embarrassing Moments," and it got me thinking. It's amazing to me how even the smallest encounters in our lives can have a lasting impact on those around us. Whether it's an occasion that will forever inspire laughter, life lessons, tears of joy, or even tears of pain, we rub shoulders with various people in and out of every season of life. With each exchange, we brush by them through shared life experiences that impart on them a piece of ourselves. It definitely makes me think twice about how I allow even the shortest interaction to transpire.

A while back I was playing in the worship team. It was a Saturday night, and I wasn't yet completely in tune with the service order. So when we completed our third song in the set and the video began to roll, I swiftly unplugged, powered down, hung my guitar on the stand and darted down the side stairs to find my place somewhere in the back of the auditorium. Shortly after the lights came up, I looked up on the platform and realized that the band was still up there. That's when our worship pastor said something like, "Hey, guys. We've got a special song for you tonight, and I'm just hoping our guitar player will come back so we can play it for you!" Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed. Not only were all eyes on me while I made the long walk (run) from the back of the auditorium to the platform, but I also had to turn all my gear back on. It was a long, awkward transition, in deed. Our worship pastor told me afterward that was the first time that ever happened to him.

That worship pastor has moved on, but I'm pretty sure he'll take that story - that experience - with him wherever he goes, warning guitarists all over not to leave the platform mid-set.

He and I served together less than three years, but stories like these will live on much longer. Who have you crossed paths with over the years that have left a lasting mark on you? What impressions have you left on them?

The time we spend with someone - whether its a co-worker, fellow group member, or even a member of our family - is invaluable, however fleeting it may seem. Even the briefest moment is enough to bestow life-long influence. What a challenge that presents for us to never take any of it for granted... and to work hard to ensure the influence we leave on others is a good one.