I
like church bulletin boards. You know, the kind that
are outside the church on the lawn and some light
up and black letters spell out some kind of message
or other. I like the boards outside businesses too.
I read them all.
My favorite one was from 1988. I was teaching at Lewiston's
Longley Elementary School then, and I used to drive
up Court Street on the way home. The pharmacy on the
main drag always had a saying, and if the traffic
wasn't too heavy I'd glance left and read it. One
day, it said, "Committed to excellance."
I had just given a spelling test to my fourth graders
so I was in a teacher-y mood. I pulled over and gently
informed the proprietor that excellence doesn't have
an 'a' in it.
The church boards around here have good sayings. When
I drive by I read them, and then I really think about
the message on the board as I drive on. Sometimes
I think about them for a long time.
The New Gloucester Bible Church bulletin board says
"Pray without ceasing." That one got me
thinking. It's not physically possible to pray incessantly.
Even monks and nuns in medieval times didn't pray
all the time. Then I decided not to be so literal.
Possibly, I thought, it means pray all your life.
In the end I decided that I would interpret it to
mean that one's life should be a prayer, without cessation.
In other words, live it.
The Trinity Church in Gray always has great sayings
on their board. Recently it has one that I love. It's
"God is lighting the Gray area." Nice to
know the sunshine will pour in and Gray will light
up. Trinity's board is a hopeful one, and it also
makes me smile every time I drive by.
Here's another one that made me smile. It was in Waterville,
I saw it when I was on the way to the Common Ground
Fair. The Church was Faith Evangelical and their sign
read, "If at first you don't succeed…don't
try skydiving."
Words of wisdom, all. When you find words that resonate,
from wherever they emanate, take them to heart and
give thanks to those who took the time to put them
in your path.
