Moments of Impact

By: Phil Miller LPC, LMFT

I remember years ago a professor looked at me and said, “We are all one phone call away from everything changing.”

I think when we are young, we can feel distant from this idea, or at least from the idea that life can change in painful ways. Can one phone call really change everything?

As we get older, this phrase often becomes more familiar. The truth is, many people can point to the exact moment someone said, “Cancer.” “Car accident.” “Heart attack.” “Miscarriage.” “Affair.” “Addiction.” “Suicide.” In a single moment, life has changed forever. The life that once felt steady has suddenly shifted.

The unique thing about moments, though, is that just as quickly as something heartbreaking can happen, the opposite can be true. A message saying, “Promotion.” “Engagement.” “Pregnancy.” “Offer accepted.” “Clear scan.” These moments can also be life-altering, changing everything in an instant.

Then there are the simple moments—or even the moments we’ve hoped and prayed for—that carry an incredible impact. A call from a parent or child after years of silence. Lunch with a friend who understands the weight of depression. Holding a child. Shared laughter. A hot cup of coffee. Devotions outside on a quiet morning. A simple text that says, “I love you.” A heartfelt, “I’m sorry,” when life gets the best of us. Or the couple who recently sat in my office, where the husband reached for his wife’s hand for the first time in years and said, “We can do this.”

Moments are what keep me going as a therapist. I have the privilege of watching people experience moments that change everything. Some are dramatic, while others are almost unnoticed by everyone else. Yet both have the power to alter the course of a life.

My encouragement to all of us is this: continue to live into these moments. Don’t underestimate them. They can make all the difference.