Thursday thoughts: Nothing better than receiving Post-It Notes from God

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I’ll make a confession. I am a lover of Post-It Notes. I don’t know why, but I just love them. I think I love the fact that I can put them anywhere and they just stay there. And it’s a bonus that they now come in such beautiful, colorful shades.

I use Post-It Notes all the time. If at any time you come by my desk you will see several with notes on them. This is the way I keep myself organized and also be able to remember things, or at least that’s what I tell myself.

I love them because I can write a note on it, place it where it will remind me, and then go from there. I trust it will stay there and somehow that serves as a little security for me. It’s crazy, but it’s the truth.

It makes me think about things that we say, do or write to others that might “stick” with them. I was thinking this week specifically about my four little granddaughters that are living with us. I know that God is using this time for Wayne and I to be able to pour into their lives. God is impressing on me to be more intentional about what I pour into their lives, or anyone else’s for that matter.

I want to be sure that I love, encourage, and model things that will “stick,” the “God Post-Its.” There are several things that bring this thought of God Post-Its to my mind. Last year, when we were going on vacation is an example. As we were leaving, Libbi, the oldest, asked if we were going to hold hands and pray together before we left.

It’s always been our routine to do this before we leave on a trip. The girls have only gone on a couple of trips with us in the last two years, our family beach trips, where we left all together from our house. They were part of the "pray before you leave" routine both of those times. It struck me this was something that Libbi remembered and also something she “wanted” to be a part of. It was a God Post-It that stuck with her. It was something that was placed before her, the trip reminded her, and it was security for her.

Another situation where this happened is with Liza. Liza is nine and she happens to be in a different school than the other girls. They all start within 10 minutes of each other but Liza’s start time comes first. The carpool line is long and you can imagine with four kids to get up and ready for school, my daughter tends to run a little close on time. Liza was always cutting it close on being there or maybe even a few times late in getting to school.

I offered to start taking her to school. It’s not a big deal and it doesn’t make me late to work, most of the time, so why not? Liza is not always up and ready to go, but it upsets her if I leave without her, so I patiently wait. This past week I had to go to Macon for work so I told Liza I would not be able to take her to school on Tuesday. She was disappointed but understood.

I got home Tuesday evening and around bedtime Liza came and crawled in the chair with me. She was just chatting away about everything, but really nothing if you know what I mean. All of a sudden she said “Mimzy, thank you so much for taking me to school every morning. I missed having alone time with you this morning – it just feels different.”

I about cried. This was really a “God Post-It” for both of us. For Liza it was something that gave her security that she was getting to school on time and also some alone talking time with me. it was a reminder to me of how special something as simple as a ten-minute trip to school can be.

Another example when this has happened is in a prayer word I choose for my kids every year. I will select a word that I want to focus on praying for them for each new year. Sometimes I send them a note telling them the word and why I am praying that specific thing, but sometimes I just pray knowing the word I have chosen.

It could be a character trait word or it could be a quality they already have but I’m praying for God to use it in their life to be a witness to others. For example, my son is a very personable, “never meet a stranger” person and I prayed for this trait to be used to draw others to Jesus. I do this because I really know that God told me to. It has become a God Post-It for me.

I hear them tell me things that have happened in their lives and I am immediately reminded of what I have prayed for, as it always seems to fit into that category or word. When I am able to remind or tell them about this, it becomes a God Post-It because sticks with them as a prayer answered and a way God has used them.

This week I received a God Post-It. Things have been really difficult around our house lately. This, in turn, makes things difficult in my mind as I struggle to try to put things in perspective and attempt to figure it all out.

I was on my way home from work on Monday and I noticed I had a message in Facebook Messenger. It was from a very dear friend. I have not seen this friend in over a year and she has no idea what is going on in my life. She proceeded to tell me how she had thought about me a lot lately and had prayed for me. She said I came to her mind and she was reminded to pray when she heard the words from a song that talked about weary travelers. She simply said she loved me, she was praying, and to not give up.

This was a huge “God Post-it” for me as it was such an encouragement to me. It just confirmed that God will place people on your heart who need that reminder of His love and care. I was blessed because she responded to God’s prompting and was obedient.

I really do love Post-It Notes but honestly I adore God Post-Its! All of these instances have been a reminder to me and I wanted to share my reminder with you. When things get tough, days are long, and life seems crazy let’s try to be a beautiful colorful picture, or post-it, of the love of Christ to everyone we meet. I pray you will think of God’s love and provision every time you see a real post-it and who knows? You might start to love post-it notes as much as I do, especially if they are the God kind.

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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.