“In the absence of touching and being touched, people of all ages can sicken and grow touch-starved.”
-Diane Ackerman, writer (1948- )

Who’s life will God nudge you to touch today? That’s not a question that I ask every day, but I should. My guess is that Ackerman is talking about the physical touch, but perhaps also about the purposeful presence in another’s life. As a teacher, it is easy for me to say that I touch lives every day. But how often do I intentionally do so after prayer and consideration of His will?

This last weekend as I sat and listened to the message during church, I was challenged to wake up each morning with the excitement that God had blessed me with another day to breath. That wasn’t a new idea to my ears, nor should it be to you. Yet, I quickly forget that notion, and take each new day for granted. Purpose. Each day I need to live with a renewed purpose, even if it is the same as yesterday and the day before that. TOUCH LIVES! Touching lives with His Spirit will bring more into His kingdom with praise and thanksgiving.

Something just occured to me. A 2×4 moment. God has blessed me with the opportunity to substitute teach in many different schools. My mind has been set on the amount of exposure I will have to the staff of those schools. What I should be focusing on is the privilege of touching lives with His Spirit, His compassion, His love. WOW! It’s not about me! Sure, I’d like a school to know about me and maybe bring me in for a full-time teaching position. I can envision the difference I could make in that one school, with one class. Yet I’m at a special place and I need to focus not so much on what I can get, but on what I can give to many, many more.