This is My Story: Zelma

“What we do now echoes in eternity.”-Marcus Aurelius

There are people that come into your life on purpose, to make a lasting impression and impact on our hearts.  One of those people for me was a lady named Zelma.

I was in the fifth grade and my parents had just gotten separated.  My mom and brother and I had moved to a new place, and my mom started taking us to church again.  On Wednesday nights, our church had dinner together, which was lovely by the way.  After that we divided up and went to our own classes according to age.

I don’t remember everything about my class, but I do remember Zelma.  She had bright red hair.  She was an older lady and she was my teacher.  I don’t remember anything she said, but I remember I did not feel alone in her presence.

I was kind of a mess at the time.  My world had just been rocked to pieces.  My parents were in the process of ending their marriage.  I was in the 5th grade, an awkward time.  We were going to a new church, living in a new house, with no dad, and my mom had just given me a terrible haircut.  Go ahead, you can laugh at the last part.  I felt like Samson having his locks shorn.

So, I am in this class feeling awkward around new people, and here is this Bible teacher woman who is reaching out to me and welcoming me into this new environment.  I don't remember all the details, but I do remember that she removed some of the loneliness, and that she gave me a new Bible.  We hadn’t been to church in a while I don’t think, so this was a reintroduction to the things of God.

Sometimes we don’t realize that the smallest of efforts can influence people for eternity.  We are sowing just the smallest of seeds that may seem extremely insignificant, but can have lasting, eternal impact.  I am so thankful that this woman loved God, and took just a minute to love little, messed-up me.

As the years went on, I drifted from God, only to come back to Him in my early twenties.  As I look back, I realize that that because Zelma planted a tiny seed in my heart, God was able to water that seed to produce fruit in my life for His Kingdom and bring this sweet little lamb home.

I still have the Bible.

"The sower sows the word."-Mark 4:14