Blame It On a Former President
I am writing this shortly after the death of President George H. W. Bush. As one might expect, people whose names are easily recognizable are remembering him. World leaders, family members, people who worked for him in his various roles in government, people from the various news media, and others are sharing their memories of a man who one prominent news reporter regarded, until Mr. Bush’s death, as (in his words) “the greatest living American.”
I am, in no way, a prominent person. As far as I know, the closest I ever got to
However, I’d like to share with you something I learned from this man. I’m apparently not nearly as committed to is as he was. I also have not touched as many lives as he did by following his example.
I remember hearing or reading during his presidency that he would spend time almost every day writing personal notes to people My memory may be a little faulty. It may, in fact, be the case that he set aside some time every day to do this.
When I learned this, I thought about the fact that I could follow his example. I understand that people in the world would not agree with me that my role as either a preacher (at the time) or an elder (now) is anywhere nearly as important as that of being “the leader of the free world.”
I would respectfully disagree. While any president’s role can possibly have a tremendous impact on the fate of nations, the role of any man who serves as either a preacher or an elder (or both) can have an impact that is eternal.
I’ve received a lot of good-natured (I hope) ribbing over the years from people who have had the “unfortunate” experience of trying to decipher one of my notes. Austin Palmer, who developed the Palmer Method of handwriting, probably spins in his grave every time I pick up a pen. I sometimes will even joke that I write “in the unknown tongue.”
I try to justify my poor handwriting by saying that it is the thought that counts. In some ways, that is not merely a justification. I think there is some truth to that.
How do you think a person felt when they received a personal, handwritten note from somebody as important as our president? Would the message be all that was important? Would it not be just as important, if not more so, to just know that somebody took some time to actually write something?
So – to those who have been (un)fortunate enough to have received a note from me and experienced “translating” it –
you may blame it on a former president.
I know that we can communicate quickly, more efficiently, more economically, and (in my case) more clearly with the aid of technology that far surpasses ink and paper. I also know that, especially when I preached full-time, I did not record special and encouraging phone calls. I don’t remember ever keeping an email that meant something to me.
However, I do know that I had a special place in my desk where I kept handwritten notes that “kept me going.” There were (and are) some people who just seemed to know when I needed encouragement. It meant more to me than I can express that somebody thought enough of me to take the time to actually write something meaningful to me.
Did you notice anything unusual about that last paragraph? Hopefully, it “dropped the hint” that a person does not have to occupy a certain position in order to write a meaningful note. You don’t have to be a president, a preacher, or an elder. You don’t even have to have beautiful penmanship. All you have to have is a pen, some paper, a little time, and a heart that thinks about others.
I know. I know. Stationary costs some money. The price of stamps seems to always be going up. If you choose to write a few notes from time to time, the practice may eat into your budget a little.
If that happens…
you may blame it on a former president!
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
