On a Sunday morning a while ago, I met two
ladies who I guess were in their early seventies. They were neatly dressed and I imagined that they might have been walking to church. The snippet of their conversation that I
caught as they passed me by has lingered in my mind. “Now listen,” said one to the other, “
– while I think of it – you know on Tuesdays you go to …” Intrude with me, if you will, into this
private conversation, and consider my thoughts about it, phrase by phrase.
‘Now listen’ – the speaker
had to say this to gain her friend’s heightened attention. For each of them this was an opportunity to
unload the week’s events. But what the
speaker was about to impart was important.
She wanted to make sure it would be remembered, over and above their
usual weekly chatter.
‘While I think of it’ –
Clearly there was much to share when these two met; maybe they only saw each
other on that occasion each week, and each had much to share with the
other. Having remembered the need to make
this particular announcement, she wanted to ensure it didn’t get overlooked:
crowded out by other matters.
‘On Tuesdays’ – Both the need
to specify the day in the first place, and the emphasis which the speaker
placed on the word, gave me the impression that on other days, other events
would also be regularly attended; their average week was quite full.
‘You go to’ – For all her
age, the listener was known to be an active individual, not content to sit in
and wait for the world to come to her, she was able, and even more important,
willing, to go out and find the companionship of others, and join in activities
with them.
And
what of the bit I missed – whatever was going to follow, some detail about the
forthcoming Tuesday’s activity? Maybe it
had been cancelled. The build up to it
suggested that there would have been, at the very least, particular
inconvenience or disappointment for the speaker’s friend if she were to
discover this on Tuesday; better that she was forewarned.
Those fourteen words had much
to say. Whether an accurate summary or not, the incidence prompts a parallel question in my mind. What does God
want to say to me today? Amongst all my rambling thoughts, and all I read or listen to, is there something special that He wants me to know? One way to
find out is to examine His word in the Bible, and to study it in depth. This analytical technique is one that we can
apply to any verse of scripture. Treat it like a
chocolate orange: ‘tap it, unwrap it’, and indulge in the full richness of
God’s word.
