I’ve recently “attended” two powerful and moving funeral services for two globally recognized names:  Billy Graham and Barbara Bush. As an attendee to such weighty memorials in our history, I’m grateful for the advanced media that can offer me such access.

Last Saturday, I sat in a friend’s den and was given personal insight into the life and legacy of Barbara Bush. True, the usual farewell service of the deceased always accents the positives and dismisses any negatives attached to those lives. However it was expressed in dramatic fashion by family and friends the impact Mrs. Bush’s life had left, due to her family and worldwide influence and titles.

Jon Meacham, an historian and friend of the family, delivered a poignant eulogy as he shared personal stories about the former first lady. In one portion of his reflections, he called Mrs. Bush’s life a consequential one. The description struck me as I considered the significance of that attribute.

A consequential life! My familiarity with that word has always been in another form — inconsequential as in inconsequential decisions, objects or happenings. But a consequential life stretched my meditative processes.

Wouldn’t that be a desire of every human — to live a life stamped with importance or significance in the realm of positive influence? Yet in reality, only a select few can wield power and influence from the platform of First Lady or President of the United States.

Still, I believe we limit our own influence if we ever consider our own roles or platforms as inconsequential. Few people could say they ever heard of Mordecai Ham, but he was an evangelist preaching in a tent meeting in North Carolina in 1936. Billy Graham, a 16-year-old, stepped in the tent out of curiosity, but left having found Jesus as his Savior.

From a little known tent meeting to the ends of the earth was God’s plan for Billy Graham. It’s just another reminder that all lives have the potential to be consequential. Only when we step into eternity will we know the full extent.

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602, or e-mailed to camilleanding@gmail.com.