Motives

There was...as in “used to be”....an old, shot with bullet holes, sign on the dirt road river crossing to my house. It had long lost it’s sturdy stance by time, occasional bumps from trucks and of course the flood waters themselves and it was leaning heavily. Well, my eyes had fallen upon that old sign and I was thinking about driving down to the river some night with tools and some WD 40 to “recover” it. One day when driving through the river, I pointed it out to my son and mentioned wanting that old sign.

Upon returning from a 5 week road trip I pulled into my place so glad to be off the road for awhile. When I stepped into my bedroom, there on the floor leaning up against the wall was this sign.....”LOW WATER CROSSING”. I KNEW who had gotten it for me! Or should I say “tactically acquired”, as my son in the Army likes to call it. It made me smile to know he loved me enough to remember something I had said in passing and when coming out to my place to pick up something of his, he had the fore thought to bring what it took to relieve that old sign of it’s imprisonment to that shaky old pole. (Have you noticed how I have been cleverly careful to avoid such words as “vandalism”?) I totally look at it as more appropriately considered a RESCUE.....yes, that’s it!

It wasn’t until hours later after finding the sign that I realized Colt had taken a magic marker and written me a message on the back of that old sign. I read it and got teary eyed. For on the backside he had written how he loved me, was so blessed to have me as his mother & how proud he was of me. WOW!

I loved that old sign anyway, beat up, shot up, somewhat rusted and dented all over....but NOW I look at it and guess what I “see” in that old sign? Yep, you got it. I see the heart of my son’s love towards me. I see what’s written on the backside of it that no one can see, but I know is there! I see LOVE. I see my son’s heart every time I look at that sign. I don’t see the dents and blemishes.....I see TREASURE.

I think that MUST be how God see’s those of us who love Him. He see’s past the dents, imperfections and wounds and see’s our HEART. That sign is hanging inside my house, not outside with the other old signs I’ve acquired over the years. No, this one hangs in a protected environment! Someone could walk into my house and wonder WHY I would have such an old, beat up sign hanging on my living room wall. They only see the exterior, but I know what’s written on the other side that is more precious than the sign itself. I think that’s just a very small example of how God see’s us when our hearts are completely given over to Him. He see’s what’s written inside!! The love of a son or daughter who’s allowed Him to write upon our hearts.....messages of love! You see....when it all boils down....it’s not simply the thing we do or are, but the MOTIVE BEHIND who we are and what we do! God looks at what’s written inside. Why not make it a “love letter”?