Difference makers come in all sizes and shapes. God has blessed my life with so many people who have engaged me, challenged me, encouraged me, sharpened me, and believed in me. I want to discuss 3 Difference Makers in my life. These individuals have all gone on to be with the Lord and I often wish I could get their input.
Difference Maker #1
My Grandmother- Dorothy Snowden
This is my Mom’s Mom. Grandma had a difficult life:
· Never graduated high school
· Single parent in her 20’s
· With no child support, she raised 2 kids
· A bullet lodged next to her spine
I tell you that now so that you will see how she gave me what she never received. For one reason or another, I was a difficult child (I just think it was more fun). I was constantly in trouble at school and I was an accomplished liar. My Mom really struggled with me and I often made her cry because of my obstinate attitude (I do regret that). Needless to say, my Dad could bring the heat and did on a regular basis. When everyone seemed to be focused on my negatives- and there were plenty to see- Grandma took a different edge. For some reason, she began to focus on my strength of personality and saw it as a positive leadership characteristic. She would often tell me, “Hal, you are going to be President one day.” I loved it when Grandma would come and I hated to see her leave! She found a way to cut through my anger and pain and redirect it. I became a Christ follower at 16 and as my life changed direction, I realized Grandma had been praying for me while she encouraged me.
Later on in life, as I began in full-time ministry (student pastor and small groups pastor), I would speak at our church and then send Grandma a tape (not 8-track!). I found out that when she traveled, she would listen to me rather than the radio and I laughed- she thought I was better than anyone and compared me to Billy Graham (sorry Billy). I went to visit her in her mobile home park in St Petersburg and I discovered I was famous. She had been passing the tapes around the neighborhood and encouraging… probably making her neighbors listen. One neighbor told me that Grandma gave these instructions when she loaned a tape, “only play it once, I don’t want you to wear it out.” When she died, I discovered she had every tape I had ever sent her. And so in her death- she was still encouraging me.
One last thought… I performed my Grandmother’s funeral and shared some of the stories of encouragement. I thought I was Grandma’s favorite- what I discovered was that every Grandchild thought that they were Grandma’s favorite! To be continued …
Have a comment?
YEAH HAL!! So glad you’ve crossed over to the blogging world. Will you do some posts on parenting, please? Looking forward to learning much!
Heather- Thanks. I am kinda setting the frame work around the idea of difference makers. Parenting fits perfectly. It is a big issue at The Bay…
First time on your blog, Hal…great idea. Had to comment on the story about your grandmother…I had someone exactly like her in my life…Mrs. Nichols, my 8th grade Latin teacher believe it or not! She constantly told me I had amazing potential and would do wonderful things (ok, she was wrong but it was a nice thought).
Coming from a household that didn’t provide that kind of encouragement, it meant the world to me. In fact, my senior year, as Valedictorian I was asked to select my “Star” teacher and I chose her, even though I hadn’t been in her class for 4 years. She was so proud! She was around 80 years old at the time and retired soon thereafter but continued to call me and even invited me over for tea once when I was home from college. Mrs. Nichols passed away a few years ago and I wrote a long tribute about her telling her family how much she had meant to me. There’s no telling how many others she impacted the same way, but she made me feel special and helped me understand that I can make a difference in the lives of others just with a little encouragement.
Jim
Great story! Very cool that you got to honor her. Great example of a difference maker flying under the radar.