dear srstrt this is my very first time on this website and as i was navigating my way around the site i came upon your blog. it was so nice to read about your minister and how he inspires you. I have a very similar relationship with my minister. I always considered myself a Christian but I never really felt liked I belonged. I remember going to church and counting the minutes until the service was over. I never connected. But then my mother was dying and my minister came to sit with her and share passages from the bible with her and just hold her hand. Even though she had always been a good Christian, she was scared to leave. But he helped her be calm and I watched her transform and eagerly await the crossing over. So I started to see my minister in a different light. I attended Alpha courses and started to understand my faith. And even though it has taken MANY years i feel so connected with Christ. It is through really listening to my minister. He has walked me into a relationship with Christ. and now i feel that God is in control. And I can't wait to get to church each Sunday and wait to hear my minister preach and I wish he could go on and on. He inspires me to live a good life.

No, you made the right choice. While it's possible that somebody is inspired by somebody they know through the media, I think a person who we have met and walked with and experienced more fully can provide a far more inspiring example. Probably because we have a fuller picture of who they are.

The world would probably be a much better place if more of us would look closely enough at those around us and find the real people who could inspire us. And perhaps think of the quiet (and not-so-quiet) ways we could be inspiring to those around us.

Hello there! Thanks for your blog. I think it's tougher to come up with a name of someone who inspires us personally than to opt for those more widely known and appreciated. It's good that you were able to share at a deeper level both at the dinner and her at wondercafe.ca. Cheers, Jen