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BODY BUILDER
They say you can tell a great deal about someone from the magnets they attach to their refrigerator. I guess there is more than a grain of truth to that notion.
I took a careful look at our refrigerator the other day and there were some definite patterns discernible. One set of magnets had association with close friends. “To my friend–may your path be strewn with flowers” says one. It was from Jean, a friend of my wife for many years. “God has blessed me with a friend like you” says another from Jeannie, also a close friend of my wife. From these, you can deduce with confidence that my wife is a caring person.
Still on the subject of friends, we have “I love NZ” stamped on a Kiwi bird, gift from Ray and Ngaire, retired friends in Wellington and a reminder of happy times spent together. Then there is the red and white wooden horse from Scandinavia that brings back happy memories of times spent with friends in Norway, Sweden and Denmark…In this category, too, there is a Hawaiian angel with jet black hair–memory of happy times in Hawaii, but also a reminder (as if we needed it) of the daughter we lost as a young child whose name was Angela and who, too, had dark hair. From these you can guess, correctly, that we have traveled extensively.
Another category would be “family.” Here we have a beautiful magnet from our other daughter, Roz, who means so much to us. It says “When I asked for a daughter, I was sent a princess.” Absolutely true. She is a princess. Then there are a couple of magnets with pointed comments about me…“Don’t question your wife’s judgment…” reads one “… look who she married!” (Not sure where that came from but I have a good idea.) Another, from my sister to my wife, says “Hang on to your husband–he might come back into fashion”!
Still under family would be the magnet of a beautiful old building in Bewdley, UK, where my wife’s cousin and his wife live. Yes, we are certainly richly blessed with a close, large, extended family.
There’s one magnet that I put there myself. It is representative of my hobby… which is also my passion and addiction. It’s from Amazon.com and says “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Amen to that. And, amen, again.
And, finally, there are the texts “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul…” “God is our refuge and strength…” and “Let go and let God.” All witness to our faith.
“You can’t tell a book by its cover” say some. Maybe that is true in that, while the outward appearance may promise something, the inside may not fulfill that promise. Isn’t it the same with humans? “Covers do sell books” say others. They, too, are right. If the cover is attractive then (as for any other attractively packaged product) people will buy.
In a sense we are all like refrigerators. What I mean by that is that we all have “magnets” (signs, characteristics, if you like) attached to us that give a message to those who see us.
Someone said that there are two reasons people do not become Christians. One is that they have never seen a Christian; the other is that they have seen a Christian, and what they see is certainly not attractive enough to make them want to “open the cover” of that “autobiography.” The truth is that we are more often known for what we are against than what we are for. Since we are for “Good News” that seems rather odd, doesn’t it.
God’s “frozen” people?