Emojis

I am on the list.
In fact, I am on two lists.
I am a safe person in the contact list of two young people.
I am one of the privileged few.

One phone is for a young boy, who has one more year before he goes to high school.
I am a person the school can get a hold of in case his parents cannot be reached.
I am someone he is allowed to text and someone who is allowed to text him.
It is nice to know that I am there if the need ever arose.

The other phone is for a young girl.
That phone will be used by the young girl and her sisters.
It is monitored by her parents.
She, too, has a very limited contact list.

Her mom told me to expect some texts.
Her mom told me to expect emojis.
Her mom knows what text comes in and what text goes out.
I was told what to expect a head of time.

The evening after I got this young girl’s phone number, I sent her a text so she had my number.
She will be twelve years old.
She and her sisters are home schooled.
The ability to text a few people is a bit of monitored freedom, which she is using wisely.

Later that first evening, I got a text: Thank you. I received your message.
Followed a bit later with: Good night.
The next morning I received: Good Morning, Mrs. Gallagher.
That day happened to be my birthday.

This sweet young girl sent a text filled with the emojis her mother told me about.
Happy faces, cake, donuts, cookies, ice cream, lollipops, and candy emojis greeted me.
When I thanked her for her birthday greeting, she answered.
You’re welcome, which was followed by emojis of a poodle, a unicorn, and a cat.

I had given this young girl and her sisters a book when they came to visit.
She sent me a text telling me how much she liked it.
I have the same book and suggested that we could discuss it.
She loved that idea.

A few days went by and then I was greeted with: Hi, how are you today?
It was past my birthday but my family was coming home for the weekend to celebrate.
I received more birthday emojis; I received heart emojis.
I am privileged because I am on the list.

When the weather is nice I received flower emojis followed by the emoji of a bee.
We are talking to each other in words.
We are talking to each other in pictures.
I am on the list of safe contacts and I am delighted about that.

Her texts are not an intrusion.
Her texts are not annoying.
This young girl, and her family, is very special to me.
I think the whole thing is very sweet.

When my children were little, I read a book to them that they really enjoyed.
The story was told in words and pictures.
Every time a picture was in the sentence, the child had to say the word for that picture.
They learned to anticipate the picture and were ready to point and say what the word would be.

I thought of the many picture books that my children loved to look at before they started to read.
Stories can be told quite well through pictures.
A child can learn how to inference as they tell what they see and what they don’t see in a picture.
A picture can help the story line but it can also hinder it.

That is why we graduate from picture books to words.
Words become our pictures as we use our imagination to see them in our mind.
That is why illustrating a book is such a difficult thing.
An illustrator wants to enhance the story but not tell the story.

Every time I update my phone, the emojis look different.
More emojis are added.
Now, on my iPhone, an emoji can be substituted for a word, much like the book I read to my children.
We can replace a word with its emoji if the word comes up highlighted.

There’s an emoji for that, would be the appropriate catchphrase.
You can save time.
You can send text messages in pictures.
You can cut out the imagination completely.

I was thinking about all of this when I saw something the other day.
I looked at the picture and it made me laugh.
I realized that in its humor, it conveyed truth.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

I use emojis occasionally.
I use heart emojis and faces that blow a kiss.
What do they add to my text that words could not convey better?
Do emojis add to the conversation or take away from it?

My son, who is a lawyer, refuses to use emojis.
We used to gently tease him about his refusal.
However, the more I pondered it, he may be on to something.
He may be considered a hold out, but there is wisdom in his reluctance.

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:  If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ” Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:8-16)

Our faith is a word based faith.
There are no substitutions for the Word of God.
We can find an emoji of a cross but without the Word of God, how will we understand?
We must read and speak the word of God so that others can hear the Good News.

There is no emoji for that.
There is nothing that can ever replace the Word of God.
The Bible was meant to be read, and often read aloud, so it can be heard.
Let’s read God’s Word, speak God’s Word, and share God’s Word with others.

It is the Word of faith we are proclaiming.
The Word is very near.