This past spring break (2022), I went to Daytona with 4 of my best friends from W&M. On the plane ride there, one of my friends started talking to this guy sitting next to her. He was also a college student, and they ended up exchanging information. We decided to meet up with him and his friends a few nights of the trip, and it was so fun! Somehow the topic of religion came up, and my friend Lindsey mentioned to the guy that I was a Christian. He said that he was Catholic, and that he actually had just read his Bible in the airport on the way to Florida. I replied "No way, me too!" and he said "Wait, were you the girl in the airport reading your Bible?" I said yes, and he proceeded to tell me that he saw a girl sitting in the airport who looked like she was journaling and reading her Bible, and from this he decided to pull his out and read (after he hadn't read his Bible in months). I was shocked.
The thing that struck me the most about what he said is that I may have never found out about it. If my friend hadn't talked to him on the plane, if we hadn't met up with him later, and if Christianity didn't somehow come up, I would have never known. But even if I never found out, I still would have impacted him in a way that's very important to me. And that's what I want to briefly talk about today.
I'm not saying this to sound boastful or proud of myself, because I know what I did was not unique. The truth is, EVERYONE is influential and has the opportunity to impact someone. It could be the cashier at your favorite restaurant, the person you frequently pass around campus, one of your followers on social media, or even a stranger in an airport. People take notice of what you do, and that matters! Holding the door, smiling at strangers, reading your Bible (or doing something you love) in public. All of these things seem small, but they have the opportunity to make at least some sort of impact on the person next to you. It's never a bad thing to ask someone how their day is going or to reach out to the friend you haven't talked to in awhile.
And on the flip side, people take notice of the bad stuff too. Making fun of strangers, constantly complaining, being rude to service workers. These things matter too. Not because it matters what others think of you, but because you should want to spread love and joy to those around you.
I know this post is cliche, but I really believe that what we do matters more than we may ever realize. I hope this encourages you to go out of your way to be kind today. Do what you love shamelessly, and know that someone is taking notice of that. They may even be inspired by it.
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