Something Beautiful I saw today...

by Dennis Jaeger and Gaylee Garroutte

Being a part of Impact never ceases to amaze me.  Impact is a place where God uses any and everyone to be a blessing to others. A place where anyone can find a way to serve, and where God’s love is alive and well.  When you walk in on a Sunday morning, there is such a broad spectrum of people you might cross paths with; people who you can encourage and people who will encourage you.  Below are the words of Gaylee Garroutte after a Sunday morning at Impact.  Lord, teach me to be more like the little girl she describes!

“This morning when I was in church I saw the most beautiful thing.  There was the sweetest little blonde haired baby, she was cute as a button, and if I had to guess her age...  maybe 1 ½ or 2 years old.  This little girl amazed me.  She was sitting in the back row with her mother and behind them was a row of elderly people in wheel chairs.  This little girl left her mom and walked right over to one of the ladies in the wheelchairs and just smiled at her.  The smile that came over the older woman's face was priceless.  The little girl proceeded to put her hands on the woman’s legs and kind of mini hugged her.  The older woman was gleaming!  She lingered around and then looked over at the elderly woman in the wheelchair next to her and then went to her and just smiled so cute at this woman.  The older woman bent over, picked her up and sat her in her lap for a little bit.  The girl was completely happy, smiling and laughing, and the joy that it gave to this woman was amazing.  The little girl continued to go from wheelchair to wheelchair, smiling, laughing, and just loving on all these people I doubt she knew.  I was so impressed with how generous this little baby girl was with her love and the difference it made to the people who she was loving on.

She was such a lesson to me. She reminded me how powerful it can be to love another - just the simple gift of love and the impact that it can make on someone else. She wasn't selfish at all, she loved them all. Her tiny little arms had so much power when she hugged another. She was tiny, but her message was huge. Today, I choose to try and love others more like her. She was wonderful :)”