lasting impression

for almost a year and 6 months now, i have recognized the face and voice of my niece. i can easily pick her out of the crowded play area at chapters or in the busy nursery at church. i recognize her chortles, cries, and chatter in the midst of other noises. i recognize her.


in the past couple of weeks her mother, my sister, told me about 2 separate instances that both warmed my heart and caused me to think a couple thoughts :-)


one day my sister was on facebook and she showed my niece a picture of me. here's what my sister wrote to me via facebook: "I showed Marcail your profile picture. She was smiling and pointing! I was saying, "Hi Aunt T!" and she was waving at you ;)" a few days following that occasion, my sister told me following a church service that my niece noticed me on the platform at my church where i do some singing. it was obvious she recognized me and was pleased to see me, even if only from a distance.


i know my niece has likely recognized me for some time now...but these times were different than when my mom brings my niece close to the platform while i'm singing, or when my sister brings her in close proximity to me for the purpose of us seeing each other, or when i approach her to make over her. it's like these times, brought to my attention, my niece recognized me without having to be reminded who i am. she recognized me. 


here are my 2 thoughts (well, 3 if you count the recurring thought that i have the most adorable and brightest niece in the world)... 

for one, apparently i have done things to make myself recognizable to my niece in a good way. it's not fear, or annoyance, or upset, or indifference based recognition...but, if i may take the liberty of presumption, it's joy and delight based recognition. this made me ask the question, have i made myself recognizable in a positive way to the people i interact with, no matter what the level of interaction is? i'm not suggesting that everyone's gonna like me and want to be my best friend, but have i made the kind of impression that leaves a good taste in people's mouths? which brings me to something i heard on the radio, as the morning show host prepared to do a "listener of the week" draw, employing the assistance of an unsuspecting guest to announce the impending draw with a set of sticks and cymbals. following the cymbal solo and resounding final crash, the host noted the enthusiasm of the percussionist, who in turn remarked that she thought she might have only the one shot at making a lasting impression. the radio host shot back that as far as he could tell, she certainly made an impression on the cymbal. the point is that i make an impression on people. i better make sure it's a positive one and one that i want to revisit; not one i'd prefer to forget or remove like a bad tattoo :-) 


and secondly, i might have a great, "out of this world" impression of God, but does He have a good and positive impression of me? have a left a good taste in His mouth? does He know me in a good way? someday i'm gonna stand before Him, and i want Him to be able to say "well done, good and faithful servant," not "depart from Me...I never knew you"...or like the message translation of matthew 7:21-23 says, "I can see it now—at the final judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' and do you know what I am going to say? 'you missed the boat. all you did was use Me to make yourselves important. you don't impress Me one bit. you're out of here.'" i want to make sure He knows me in a good way. 1 cor. 8:3 (nlt) says, "the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes." and if i love Him, according to john 14:15, i will keep His commandments. i guess doing these simple things will ensure that He recognizes me in a good way :-)

the way i see it, the phrase "lasting impression" has probably been used to describe my impact on someone, and the mark i've left by my actions or inaction, by the things i've said or didn't say, by my behaviour or attitude, etc. i think i've done a good job leaving a good lasting impression on my niece; i want to be careful that i do the same with others, and with God, so that if i was a tattoo, it'd be a good association, and not a bad memory.


and that's all i've gotta say about that :-)