Where'd the Summer Go?

Here we are, sitting at day two of school at Faith Baptist Academy.  I find myself wondering, where did the summer go?  It seems like only last week, we were dismissing for the summer break! 

As I thought about the summer, I realized that it was a whirlwind of activity.  We sent a letter out to our church family reminding them of this.  Here is part of it:

What a summer!  I cannot believe that it is almost Fall.  We have accomplished so much together this summer--Camp Meeting was a tremendous success and such a blessing to so many preachers, pastors, missionaries, and evangelists who traveled to be here at the meeting.  Its success is in large part due to your help, prayers, and sacrificial giving.  Thank you!

We had so much fun with the church picnics, between all the good food, the prayer time, and the fun games, I don’t know what the best part was! Then came camp season.  A week at Camp Victory for both the teens and the juniors was just what our young people needed.  Between the isolation from worldly things and tremendous preaching, the Lord worked in our young peoples’ hearts.  Again, this was made possible to your generous help with the Bake Sale, both in baking things and buying things. 

I can’t fail to mention Vacation Bible School and how proud I am of all our teachers and volunteers.  The lessons were so well done, and the crafts and games were great fun for everyone.  Topping the day off was that young man bowing his head and asking Christ to save him, what a wonderful day!

As I have been reflecting on this summer a question came to mind.  During the fun of summer break, the family vacations, the lazy mornings where you slept in late, did you make a difference?  The Book of Jude tells us that we should make a difference in people's lives. 

So, did you?  Did you make a difference in someone's life this summer?  Can you think of one person that you positively impacted in some way?  Did you go out of your way to help someone?  Did you smile at that stranger while you held the door open for them?  Did you impact someone's eternity?  Did you take a moment to hand them a tract and invite them to Church? 

Did you talk to someone about Jesus?  You don't have to be a pastor to do that, in fact, some people won't talk to a pastor, but they'll talk to their friend, neighbor, or family member. 

Perhaps you made a difference in a negative way.  Perhaps there was that one person you had a, ahem, disagreement with, that you never got settled.  Perhaps there was that family reunion where you purposefully ignored Aunt What's-Her-Name because she made you angry last year. 

In our lives, we can impact people positively or negatively.  We should strive to be a positive impact on the people around us.  That's one of the greatest opportunities I have as principal of a Christian school.  I am excited about the returning students and overjoyed for the new students--I'm beside myself with anticipation about the impact I may be able to make on these young people.  If I'm being honest, I'm also concerned about those students who chose not to return to us this year.  Did the impact I made last year influence them for the cause of Christ?  The truth is, we won't know until we step into Eternity. 

Make a difference in some one's life today.  You never know how it will turn out--like throwing a rock into a pond...the ripples go out in all directions.