The Silent Influence

Intv the hands of every individtml is given a marvelous pmver for good or m/.-the silent1 unconscious) unseen influence of his life. -WILLIAM GEORGE she were to blame for her father’s actions. As she told me the story, I noticed that both of her wrists were scarred. (If you work with youth today, you see those marks often.) “Tell me about your wrists,” I said. “Well, I tried to kill myself.”

“Why didn’t you do it?” I asked. Killing yourself is a relatively simple thing if you really want to do it. If it is just a bid for attention, the attempt is usually feeble.

She said, ‘’Well, I got to thinking ... we have a youth pastor at our church-” JORDAN === ◊ ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Oh no, I thought, now I’m going to hear an ugly story about her getting involved with some youth pastor. But that wasn’t it at all.

She said, “He’d just gotten married before he came to our church, and I’ve been watching him. When he’s standing in line in church behind his wife, he squeezes her right in church.

They look at each other, and they hug each other right in our church. One day I was standing in the pastor’s study, looking out the window, and the youth paster walked his wife out into the parking lot.

Now there was only one car in the parking lot; nobody was around; nobody was looking. And that guy walked all the way around the car and opened the door and let her in. Then he walked all the way around and got in himself.

And there was nobody even looking.” That was a nice story, but I couldn’t make a connection between that and her problem of incest or attempted suicide.

So I asked why this seemed so significant to her. She said, “Well, I just got to thinking that all men must not be like my dad, huh?” I said, ‘’)ou’re right. All men are not like your father.”

‘Jay, do you suppose our youth pastor’s a Christian?” “res,” I said, “I think he probably is.” “Well, that’s why I came tonight. I want to be a Christian, too.”

Why did she want to be a Christian? Because she saw a man being affectionate and respectful to his wife-when he thought nobody was looking.

That’s the power of a consistent life.