SS Blog Challenge 20B

Tell about how you have influenced someone & made a difference in their life.

When I was 13, I went to church camp in Tennessee. We were in a very poor area, and we held a summer camp for children whose parents were on assistance and couldn't afford child care. I met some wonderful people there, both kids my own age and younger kids in the camp. One child, in particular, really left a lasting impression on me. He was extremely hyper, and he had no undesrtanding of rules. He was honest, though...he openly admitted that he had no rules at home because he's either outside playing by himself or playing inside their trailer while his mom or grandma slept. It was such a sad home environment, but despite all the "negatives" that came along with him, I saw a spark inside him.

After camp ended, a couple of the kids wrote letters back and forth with me after we left. I sent him a box, with paper, pencils and stamps. I asked him to write me when he had a chance. We kept in contact over the years. A few years ago I received a graduation announcement from him. He noted that I changed his life forever. WOW. Who knew a 13yo could have such an impact??? He's in college now, and he should graduate next year. Every year, he goes back to the same camp where I met him to work as a full-time counselor. Pretty awesome, huh???

Now, the 2nd part of this is tell about how someone has made a difference in YOUR life. The catch is that you can NOT include family members.

This is easy. Luckily, I've had MANY people make a difference in my life, but I'll blog about the most recent. Her name...is Tiffany. The few of you that read my blog know her as tsbegley. This woman has a heart of gold, and she's just plan FUN. I've not met very many people that have as strong a faith as she does that still know how to have a great time. LOL. She's a joy to be around, truly. She's easy to talk to, and that's not something I've found in very many people. I'm typically very shy and hard to get to know. But it's strange - I was able to let Tiffany in and see my at my most vunerable state--without feeling awkward or uneasy. I feel like I've known her all my life and feel no need to hold anything back.

So why is she the person I chose to say made a difference in my life? Tiffany showed me what the true meaning of Christian is. She offered to support me through a very difficult time in my life, and she expected nothing in return. She was (is) selfless. She was there to listen, watch me cry and help me get through something I never thought I could do. She's strong. And I needed to feed off that. She made me want to be a better person, and I think of her example a lot. As a matter of fact, I decided to emulate her character, and I offered to help a single mom from my church that has very aggressive breast cancer. Her kids are older and don't need a babysitter, so I offered to bring them meals a few nights a week and pick them up/drop them off at school activities. She was so relieved because her mom was going to plan on cooking and driving them each night, but now she can go with her daughter for support.

It feels so good to help others out, and I'm so glad Tiffany reminded me of this at a time where I was only focused on me, me, me. I am still full of anxiety and fear over all my life and health issues, but it's great to get back to helping others and trying to make a difference. Thank you, Tiffany. Not only for your friendship, but also for the kick in the pants. I feel closer to Christ than I have in a long time.

For the final part of this challenge, I'm challenging you to let your "hero" know how they have "changed your life". You can either write them a note, make a phone call, hey, even print out your blog entry & send that to them. Just let them know.It doesn't have to be anything BIG that someone did, sometimes it's the little things that mean the most. Whatever it is, tell about it & then let that someone know.

I sent a copy of this blog to Tiffany.