IMPACT!!!

My wife was involved in a serious accident a few years ago. (Yeah, she was)!

As she drove down a local street in her sister’s van, in our hometown in central Florida, a white four-door sedan ran through a stop sign, and plowed into the side of her vehicle. While the automobile remained upright, the van experienced a complete rollover, and finally came to rest on its side.

Thankfully, when I use the word, “serious” I am referring to a great deal of damage to the van, and a great deal less damage to my wife and her sister. Don’t get me wrong. While it could have certainly been worse, my sister-in-law received an abrasion to one of her forearms, and my wife received a neck injury; which took some amount of time and therapy to heal.

But they are still with us, and at this writing they are both doing well. (I wish I could say the same thing for the van and the car).

I shared this story with someone yesterday. And like most of my stories, I only told it because I had an agenda for doing so. Suddenly, I slammed my right fist into the open palm of my left hand. Bam!

“IMPACT!”

No one can deny the two vehicles sustained a substantial and irrevocable impact, and neither would ever be the same again. Both were ‘totaled’ and consigned to the junkyard.

Of course, the impact the two vehicles sustained was NEGATIVE in nature.

Pt. 2

As I finished my story, I expressed the meaning of my metaphor.

“Whereas, that accident was a terrific example of Impact, it was negative impact, and not at all positive. I want to talk to you about POSITIVE impact today.”

(and)

“I am all about positive impact, but none less impactful than the accident I described to you.”

(and)

“God never meant for His people to be mediocre. He instilled within us both the desire, and the wherewithal to impact our fellow human beings. However, too many of our brothers and sisters are content to eat, sleep, go to work, come home, watch television and head off to bed again. They are doing little or nothing to impact their generation.”

Later, during the course of an unexpected, ad-lib, Sunday night opportunity to speak to our congregation, I continued to develop my train of thought.

“My favorite words in all the world are:

Heritage, Destiny, Legacy

We receive a Heritage. We fulfill a Destiny. We leave a Legacy. And our Legacy becomes the next guy’s Heritage. It’s a big circle that keeps on going and keeps on giving!”

(and)

“My friends, though I am turning 70 this year, and we are all familiar with actuarial tables, I pray every day that God gives me the insight and wherewithal to complete the remainder of my Destiny.”

(And having made a one sentence prayer out of these words, I said),

“Let me invite you to pray the same prayer with me. Let’s repeat it in unison now.”

(And we did).

Dear reader, God never intended believers to be mediocre. I would encourage you to impact those whom God sets in your pathway, and to pray the following prayer on a daily basis:

“Lord, please don’t let me miss the remainder of my Destiny.” 

by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright Pending

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