Heart Writing

I remember when my children started to draw pictures of people.
We always had crayons and colored pencils close at hand.
We had drawing paper, construction paper, and loose leaf paper for them to choose from.
It is a big day when you receive that first picture that they proudly say is of you.

Even Rembrandt would have begun this way.
Most children draw people resembling a Mr. Potato Head.
One large circle is drawn that is both the face and the body.
Small twig-like appendages stick out from the sides and the bottom, becoming arms and legs.

Eventually, the way they draw a person will become more detailed.
There may add eyelashes, a hat, shoes, or eyeglasses.
The body will become more elongated.
The arms and legs will be in proportion.

It is exciting to see the progression of a picture.
It is wise to keep a sample of artwork from each stage of your child’s growth.
It is so much fun to look back and remember.
It is delightful to watch their faces when they see proof that they really were that young once.

When a child begins to write their name, they will proudly sign the picture.
When their letters are still quite large, their name will be on the back of the paper.
Their name will take up the entire back of the sheet.
Those pictures become a marker, a moment in time, and a pause along the way.

A young woman who comes to Bible study in my home came over for tea.
She has three children: a boy and two girls.
Since her son was in school, it was her two daughters that she brought with her.
The littlest one just had her first birthday; her older sister is five years old.

The older girl loves to come here and play with my children’s toys.
I try to get out different things each time we have Bible study to keep it exciting for the children.
This time, the sweet little girl was playing upstairs with a whole different set of toys.
It was so wonderful to see the toy chest opened and all the same toys pulled out.

She was the first one to the door.
She knocked with her little girl knock and looked into the cut glass on either side of my door.
She saw me coming to open the door and waved through the glass.
As soon as I opened the door, she handed me a folded piece of pink construction paper.

For you, Miss Gina!
I made you a Valentine!
She put the piece of pink construction paper in my hand.
The pink construction paper was folded in half and folded in half again.

The front door was wide open but her mom was no where in sight.
I knew that her mom was getting the car seat out of  the car with her littlest one still inside.
I knew that her mom would be gathering the diaper bag and the other things she would need.
Her oldest daughter didn’t want to waste any time; she wanted to get to the business of play.

I opened the first fold of the paper.
I carefully opened the second.
On the paper were two figures who were holding hands.
They had big smiles on their faces.

There was a squiggly line that resembled a frame all around the two figures.
In her careful kindergarten printing, she wrote words on her card.
BE MY VALINTIN.
I couldn’t have been more pleased.

Now who are these two people? I asked her admiring the wonderful drawing.
Is it you and your Mommy?
Is it you and your teacher?
After each question she shook her head side to side.

It’s you and me, Miss Gina!
I gave her a hug as her mother came through the door.
I was the recipient of a pink construction paper Valentine.
It is truly the best kind of Valentine: handmade and from the heart.

Instead of signing her own name on the back, she wrote something else.
In large letters across the top she wrote: MIS GEENA
Close enough!
In fact, it couldn’t be more perfect.

The phonetic spelling of my name told me that the Valentine was indeed for me.
I brought her into the kitchen and got two magnets out of a drawer.
Our door to the outside is a steel door and I often use that as my art gallery.
I put her precious Valentine right in the center of the door.

She beamed with pride.
I was full of appreciation; I was humbled by her sweetness.
Her mother and I had a wonderful morning.
She had a delightful time playing with all of the toys.

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2,3)

I am sure this young mother has saved pictures that her daughter has made for her.
I have saved many things through the years from each of my children.
It is wonderful to see an actual picture that was made especially for you.
Even more wonderful is the picture or letter that is written on the tablet of the heart.

A hand drawn picture is a precious moment in time.
However, the child is written on her mother’s heart.
The child is indelibly preserved long after the ink of a had drawn picture has faded.
Writing on paper is one thing, but writing on hearts is so much more.

This precious Valentine is on pink construction paper.
It is the innocence of the gift that is written on my heart.
My heart is touched by the tenderness of a child.
Long after the ink fades, the memory will still linger.

Write your memoirs, if you must, but write them so they will last.
Leave an indelible imprint on the heart of another.
Pen and paper have their own place, their own wondrous place.
However, heart writing is lasting.

Spend your time writing on human hearts.
The story that you leave there will be lasting.