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Credit: dayspring.com
A nice card
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And so, we continued looking. Our search
was for a variety of greeting cards that day. No, none of them were Valentines,
but were for birthday, get well, thinking of you, and bereavement sympathy.
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Not our choice of card!
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The challenge was getting both the message
(the language art) and the means of presenting it (the graphic art) ‘right.’
I love this word picture from the biblical
book of Proverbs; it relates to the benefit of crafting a message and the means
of presenting it well: “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings
of silver” (Prov. 25:11). This has often prompted me to imagine various
ornaments, such as a delicate necklace, featuring apples of burnished gold, set
amongst entwining stems and leaves of silver, to grace a lady’s neck.  |
Credit: depositphotos.com
Silver picture-frame depiction
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We’ve become accustomed to trash talk at
many levels of society, from the world of sports to parliamentary debate and
just about everything in between. Smart phones and social media provide a
platform for spewing out negative attitudes, nastiness, anger and hate.
However, the medium also provides opportunity for crafting messages expressing
truth, kindness and love.
Raise Your Gaze Thought: A word or message
“aptly spoken” or written can be beautiful art when it comes from the heart.
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A version of the above piece is to be published in Southwestern Ontario's Standard Guide Advocate Feb. 8, 2018
Peter A. Black is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – and lives in Southwestern Ontario. He writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column, P-Pep! and is author of Raise Your Gaze ... Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart, and Parables from the Pond -- a children's / family book. ~~+~~
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4 comments:
Oh how I agree with you, Peter! Words are such wonderful gifts. If we choose correctly, they can do all sorts of things--encourage, lift up, give incentive, build up self esteem, affirm, give direction--oh and so much more. They can also do the opposite, but why would we want to do that when we can fashion words to express the love and goodness people need to hear?
Thank you so much for your reminder.
Peter, cards are difficult to choose. I remember the difficulty of picking a Mother's Day card for my mother-in-law. I knew my husband would not sign one that expressed sacrificial motherly love or other overly loving comments. She wasn't a bad person, but these types of verses made us feel like hypocrites. Another type of card that was extremely hard to find was a birthday card for my birth brother and sister after a 50-year separation; they all referred to a lifetime relationship. Interesting thoughts, Peter.
Thank you, Ruth. Your comment reminded me of the 'Living, Eternal, Creative Word' that "became flesh" (human) in Jesus. He is the most wonderful word gift and is 'right' for all people and situations.
And thank you, Carol. I'm sure I get your point about your desire to avoid having a sense of hypocrisy regarding choosing a card in the first situation you describe. And yes, I can see that card selecting for your birth siblings after all those years could prove a challenge. It's lovely that you have been reunited, though. ~~+~~
Peter, the first book I wrote is entitled Golden Apples in Silver Settings so your post caught my attention right away. It was promoted from Proverbs 11:25, a word fitly spoken...
Encouraging and enlightening post as always.
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