Pastor Roy is away on vacation, and some of our congregation are filling in.
Last Sunday, when it came to the part of the service where the Pastor talks to the children, it was no surprise that Jenny stood up and called the kids to come down to the front. Jenny is a retired first-grade teacher who is — as you might expect — quietly comfortable talking with young ones.
She had with her a wooden box of postcards. Jenny said her dad traveled often and would send postcards from places far and near. “He loved to send postcards,” she told the children, and would send them to family and friends often. The box she was holding was stuffed with postcards he had sent her.
Jenny pulled a card out and showed them the picture on the front and the space on the back where one would write the address and the message. The messages her dad sent sometimes were specific to a locale from where they were sent and filled up the space on the card. but often they were just short, quick thoughts: “Thinking of you,” or “Good luck on your upcoming test.” But all the messages whether filled with specific details or general thoughts had the same sub-text: “I am thinking of you and I love you.”
Then Jenny asked us to broaden our vision a bit. “Have you ever been out walking and you notice some baby birds in a nest and you are suddenly filled with happiness? I like to think that is God sending me a postcard. After all, God is always with us and it is certain God loves us.” She reminded us God is constantly flooding us with personal postcards filled with his love and joy. “We just have to keep our eyes and our ear open,” she said. She talked with the kids a bit longer, and then they went back to their places.
For the rest of that Sunday I thought about Jenny’s talk with the children. I am still thinking about it. What she said was not a new insight for me. I understand that God is everywhere and is present in everything. Sometimes while on a morning walk with Luna I stroll by the pond, and I stop to gaze at a spiderweb clinging to the cattails all delicate with dew. At that moment I am in awe of God and God’s gifts which are all around me. After a moment Luna sniffs at something and follows her nose, and I am distracted away from that moment’s wondrous gift.
I sometimes imagine what life would be if we could live in a constant state of awareness of the gifts and the beauty that is all around us every moment of every day. Why can’t I live that way? I suspect in my case it is my ego that gets in the way. I get distracted by the flimsy things and false activities of this world which are relentlessly competing for my attention. It is easy for me to forget what is real. It is a lesson in paying attention to the other rather than myself, a lesson I must learn again and again.
C.S. Lewis wrote: “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” I can relate.
I will continue to watch for those messages from above. After all, they are everywhere. And I will give thanks for the amazing postcard from God I received on Sunday when Jenny talked to the children.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
