Words spoken at the right time
are like gold apples in a silver setting.
Prov. 25:11

I had a moment this morning. A moment of doubt. Frustration. Questioning. Perhaps you could call it “testing” but I think it was more like a short pity party.

And then I got over it.

I had a “to do” list — things I wanted to get done on this a sort of “free” day after a very busy couple of weeks: speaking at a conference, college girl home on spring break (with her delightful friends visiting here too), dress rehearsal and recital for Reedy Girl, awards dinner for Bearded Brewer, chauffeur duty, and then fitting in there sideways and upside down, multiple appointments… Oh yes. And work…

As the dust settled this morning, I felt useless, a sort of “let down” — and I confess some of it was because I had hoped we’d have a snow day, which would mean sleeping in! But I got to work, cleaning out a drawer that had become a catch-all for “I’ll deal with it later.” Most of the contents were things I could throw away. But tucked in here and there were some things that made me smile and feel blessed. Treasures to my heart of hearts.

Some of them I am sure the senders don’t even remember. A note from my ordination day in 2008. A carefully drawn card from one of my daughters, a craft from the other. A short note from a parishioner who has since gone to dance with Jesus. And as I sifted the gold from the dross, I was reminded that little things add up. That a word “fitly spoken” – smoothly running, greasing the wheels of life, can make a difference. And that I have Work of a God-sent kind to do.

So, to those of you who still write little notes and send them… not just emails but something that requires a stamp or hand-delivery, thank you. And to those of us who still receive them, may we take those fitly-spoken, smooth-running words to heart and use them.

The Lord God gave me an educated tongue
to know how to respond to the weary
with a word that will awaken them in the morning.
God awakens my ear in the morning to listen,
as educated people do.
Isaiah 50:4