I love to clean and organize small areas. I choose small areas because of my limited time. I like to do it properly and not end up with small stacks of items that need a home. I like to discard unnecessary items and organize the leftovers. I live in a small rental house, storage space is valuable around here. Sometimes during this organization process I receive a real blessing like old pictures or child artwork, but in this case it was for my daughter, Lillian. I came across a red folder filled with “Get Well” notes from her class written during her 4th grade year. Lillian has asthma, her 5th grade year was her first and worst case of asthma ever. She was in ICU for a full week. There was a point during that week I thought I would lose her. God intervened like only He can and brought us the medical team she needed. I was really in awe that week of the pastoral visits, care baskets, phone calls and texts we received. My fingers actually hurt from responding to all the texts. Lillian was really not supposed to have ANY visitors because it takes oxygen to expend energy, to smile, to verbalize. Did you know that? When your oxygen level is low, it requires an extra effort to do all those things we take for granted and leaves you exhausted. (there is not even a word I can think of to explain how she felt.) Somewhere along the way, a special person brought us the red folder which contained the most precious, sincere and loving notes. I had no idea I would come across it on a pantry shelf in the breakfast room 5 years later. Most of our life and keepsakes are in boxes in storage at the present moment. How did this folder escape that destiny?
Where is your treasure? In that instant, for us, it was in the love-filled letters from her classmates and teachers in that red folder. Notes of affirmation, encouragement and love. When was the last time you wrote someone a letter? And I mean with a pen, filled with ink, written on a piece of paper, affixing a stamp to the envelope and mailing it. I encourage you to write someone a letter. I bet at this very moment, there is someone on your heart. It might be a happy thought or a sad thought, but write it out. The actual written word with a pen is losing its place in our society today. And if you’re at that point in your life when all you can find is a crayon and a sticky note, use it!! Thank someone, encourage someone—include a Bible verse—and if you can’t think of a Bible verse, use a concordance. A concordance can sometimes be found in the back of your Bible. You can search a particular word like “love” or “forgiveness” and it will list several Bible verses that speak on the topic. You choose the one that’s right for you.
Here’s a link to an online concordance. www.biblestudytools.com/concordances
You can also use a Topical Bible. You should be able to connect with one from the above link.
Back to the folder….Lillian was very happy to re-read the notes when I showed her my treasure find. They were and are the breath of life for her. God was the first Being to breathe life into His creation. Genesis 2:7 says, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Isn’t that an awesome discovery? You probably remember when you birthed your babies, what was the first thing that happened? There was that moment while you waited for him or her to take their first breath! Without an air supply, we are not living. Ofcourse, I knew that when Lillian was in the hospital, but until I saw with my very own eyes what life looked like with a low oxygen supply I could not truly understand it. Won’t you take the time to breathe life into someone else with God’s Word and Truth? We are not really living until we receive the breath of life. Do that for someone.
I’m including a pic of a personal treasure box of mine. My dear friend, Julie, created this box for me before I left Mobile to move to Houston. It contains the most precious letters from girls I shared God’s Word with. When I brought it home to read the contents, I asked my family to please not bother me while I sat on the patio and cried while I read each letter. Thank you, Julie! This box hold many “breaths” of Life for me. Thank you, Jesus.