Think on These Things: Positive thoughts in a negative world…
When I’m down in the dumps, I try to remember little encouragements I have received through the years. It was about a year ago that something happened to brighten my day.
My book The Choice Is Yours had just been released and I had almost 100 books to mail to various people. In order to send the books by media rate, each had to be weighed individually. When I took them to the post office, I ended up in Eugene’s line. As I read his nametag I noticed his dismayed expression. He wasn’t what I would call cheerful, but he was kind and efficient. He had a “we can do this thing” attitude. He commented about my return address labels which had something on it about Jesus and asked where he could get the labels. I told him through Current or Colorful Images.
The next day I came back with about 50 more books and it was Eugene who took care of me. This time I brought him a catalogue with that particular address label circled in case he ever wanted to get one.
The next day I was back but not with quite as many books. Because Eugene had asked about the address label with Jesus on it, I assumed he must be a Christian. So I gave him a free copy of the book he had been sending out for me and told him I wrote it. He deserved something for his patience. He couldn’t believe I wrote it and thanked me.
From time to time I would see Eugene at the post office. I wasn’t always in his line, but when I did go to his kiosk he would say, “Hi Barbara!”
About a month had passed and I was mailing out a couple more books. Eugene waited on me and told me how much my book had meant to him. He cited a couple of incidents where he put into practice some of the suggestions mentioned in the book and they really worked. I thanked him for sharing this with me.
But what Eugene didn’t know was just that very morning I was praying about my writing. As always I asked God to bless what I write and use it for His glory, but I was wondering if any of it really makes a difference. It wasn’t a pity party, but just reflection. Many don’t realize that writing is a lonely profession in many ways—just you, your thesaurus, and the computer. You rarely know if anything you’ve written touches people. Most people don’t take the time to let you know how they feel about your writing—except the ones who don’t like what you’ve written. And for some odd reason, one negative comment impacts you far more than many positive comments. Needless to say, Eugene’s remarks meant a lot to me.
Of course, I give God the glory for this. God saw I needed a little extra encouragement that day, and He provided it. Praise God! Every time I pass the post office I ask God to bless Eugene because He used Eugene to bless me.
*****
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ~Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
