Today, my mind flashed back to a scene in my childhood.
It was a happy scene. See if you can relate to doing anything similar to this as a youngster.
My dad ran a small-town lumber company. After school, we would wait at the lumber yard for a ride home in the company truck. I can still see that large, red, flatbed truck and feel the cracked, worn leather seats as I bounced up and down on the springs singing our usual nonsense song with Dad, "Barney Google-with the Goo Goo Googly eyes...." We bounced through town oblivious of the state of our transportation.
You see, I didn't care about our poor, old, delapidated truck because I had just finished my favorite activity after school: hiding a secret love note for my Dad in the old lumber yard brick wall.
In the tall stacks of lumber (I can still smell the fresh sawdust and two-by-fours) was an ancient brick wall. Lose bricks made for a perfect message hiding place.
Climbing the two-story ladder and crawling through the stacks of wood, we moved the loosened brick and hid our notes for Dad to discover after work.
My dad had passed on that fun from his own mother. In fact whenever Gram babysat my siblings and me, we re-enacted going to the same basement Dad did as a kid, loosening the bricks in the old coal bin, and leaving our grandmother messages of thanks and love.
There was just something magical about being able to leave a message of love behind, after we were gone, knowing she would still have part of us with her.
Secret messages of love and friendship are also found in the Bible. Reading about David and Jonathan, you know how the two had their friendship torn apart by Jonathan's jealous, evil father, King Saul. It is a sad story, yet one of loyalty and faith.
David asked Jonathan to find out if Saul still meant to kill David. If the answer were yes, then Jonathan would fire three arrows at a practice range that would go a long distance rather than short.
Can you imagine David waiting in the field for the secret message? Can you imagine how sad Jonathan was in firing those arrows a long distance knowing he would not see David again under good circumstances?
David's life changed drastically with that secret message.
It doesn't take much to change our life paths, does it? A cross word, a kind word, a sarcastic remark, a bit of gossip, an affirmation, a sweet tone... all of these can change a person's day.
It is no secret how words can hurt or help.
Join me today in sending a message of encouragement to someone. It can be anonymous or obvious. Either way, it will be a memorable moment.
For His Glory,
Gretchen
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