Árdís - 01.01.1964, Síða 13

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
11
we never know when someone is observing us and being influenced
by our words and actions. This has come to me in startling fashion
numerous times. It isn’t just when you attend church, sing in the
choir, or teach Sunday school that people are watching. It may be
they will notice more the way you treat the salesman at the door
or the neighbor’s children playing in your yard or your attitude
toward that “different” family moving in across the street. It’s in
the daily round of duties that it is best observed whether or not
we have true love for God and man.
We women have many outsanding opportunities for witnessing
of our Christian faith. Who besides mothers wield such a great
influence on the affairs of the world? Every president, prime min-
ister, cabinet member, judge and you-name-them has had a mother
who greatly influenced his early life, which in turn shaped his
adult life. Ours is a tremendous privilege and responsibility, for
old-fashioned though the saying is, it is still true: The hand that
rocks the cradle rules the world. Who knows what future scientists,
teachers, pastors, world leaders we may be harboring in our home
these days?
Even without children in the home we still have an influence
on children in the community. Sunday school teachers, Cub and
Scout leaders, and such do much to mold the moral fibre of a child.
And believe me, children notice. They know whether we are
genuine or not—A Sunday school class interrupted their lesson
once to inquire if Jesus really had a halo as we see so often on
pictures. “What do you think?” the teacher asked. “Have you ever
seen anyone whose face was radiant with sunshine?” Much to the
teacher’s embarrassment and amazement the class chorused, “Yes,
you, Mrs. Hutchinson.” For a moment she didn’t know what to
say, and even before she could speak a little girl spoke up. “Maybe
I shouldn’t say this,” she said, “but I lived with Mrs. Hutchinson
for a week while my mother was away, and I never saw her halo.”
Whether a woman’s place of work is her home or in a school
or hospital or store or business office, she still is an influence on
her associates. (Men are, too, for that matter!) No matter what
we do to earn a living, our mission in life is to witness of Christ
and His redemptive love for all mankind, by what we are and say
and do. We are to let our lights shine so men may see our good