From Jennifer: Invisible Influence

During my junior year at Palm Beach Atlantic University, I resigned myself to the sad fact that I would have to take statistics to graduate. It was 1985, and horror stories about this course my friends called "sadistics" filled me with dread!

But my real anxiety was wondering if I could complete this course without sight. It had only been a few years since I had lost the majority of my vision and I was still learning how to do college as a blind student. Dr. Inglis was to be my statistics professor. I remember bemoaning in his office, "I must have this course to graduate, but I just don't know how I can pull it off!" He chuckled and enthusiastically replied, "Maybe 'you' can't pull it off, but 'WE' can!"

When class was over, Dr. Inglis would take me to his office and painstakingly go through the textbook with me and on test days, guide me through the test. It was a meticulous process to describe formulas and statistical concepts. But he did so with humor and unwavering endurance. I actually got an 'A' in the class!

I still don't really like statistics, but I will always love Dr. Inglis for teaching me much more than "mean, median, and mode." He taught me the value of patience and kindness, and showed me the lasting lesson that people are worth time and sacrifice. Because he spent extra time to teach me stats, he made an investment in me and set an extra-high standard of how to treat others and live out my faith.

His influence in my life has been publicly unacknowledged until I wrote this, but that doesn't mean it has been invisible. His private investment in me has paid public dividends. Who I am today has been influenced by who he was so many years ago.

The same applies to you and me as we invest in people privately. What may seem unacknowledged is not invisible. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps twenty-five years from now... the result of your investment in others grows and shows. So, keep pressing on and pouring into others lives. Even if the endeavor is unacknowledged, the effect will be seen and result in glory to the Father.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

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