Maybe I'm making too much out of it.
Maybe it's just a coincidence.
Then again...
What am I talking about? "J"
Yes, the letter, "J."
It just started appearing in the signatures of people who
wrote to me.
Not everyone. Just a few.
It all began with my editor. This wonderful lady is the
person in charge of making me look a lot better in print
than I am. I mean she dots my i's and crosses my t's. She re-attaches dangling participles and makes sure my present and past tenses aren't too tense.
Every time she wrote to me she signed her name and ended it with J.
I finally wrote to ask her what it meant.
It had something to do with a smile or wink in computer talk.
Like lol (laugh out loud).
But this is what I assumed. It meant Jesus.
Why? Because I know for a fact that she is Christian.
We had that conversation. She works for my publisher,
Thomas Nelson, a prominent Christian publisher.
But then it started showing up in other messages, too.
I had to really think about this one. In doing so
I came to the conclusion that because I knew her to be
Christian I assumed it meant Jesus.
I call this "faith expectations."
That's what a Christian lady would do. I would expect
Jesus in her work. Adding a "J" would be a way to express that.
That also got me to thinkin" as they say.
Do I live up to the expectations of others?
If someone thinks me to be a faith-filled person, do I
fill those expectations. Do I act Christian?
What ever your faith might be, do you live it so well
that people have certain expectations of you?
If I had seen that in a message from anyone else would
I immediately think it meant Jesus or would I see it
as a typo?
I shared this with my wife and guess what?
She now emails me and adds "J" at the end.
The big question for me now...should I begin doing this
in an effort to show Jesus in my life or hope that
others would see it anyway?
By the way, the conversation I had with my editor when
we talked about faith was this.
"Bob, would you have a problem with having God in your stories?"
I was stunned. I was quiet for moment.
"I would like to add a bible quote here and there throughout the book," she added.
I then immediately replied, "I would love that!"
When I hung up the phone I headed to my story files and ran a search for the word "God."
I wasn't surpised when I found I actually mention God in most of my work. The rest I reflect faith based principles.
Oh, yes. One more question.
If you ran a search of God in your life, how many times
would you find him?
J
"I believe in You!"
~ Bob Perks ~
