Fingerprints Turned Leaves
Hello Friends,
It’s Pastor Daniel here for this week’s lesson. I hope you are doing well and are enjoying this new month. I can’t believe it is November already!! That’s crazy! Didn’t we just celebrate Halloween?! I still feel as if it should be June or July…. But, here we are: leaves on the ground, the sun setting earlier and earlier, and 11 Days until Thanksgiving and 40 Days until Christmas. Time is certainly flying by. So, before time flies away too quickly, I wanted to share with you something that was gifted to me a few weeks ago by you.
For those that don’t know, October is Pastor Appreciation Month (and Pastor’s Wife Appreciation Month is March; wink, wink, nudge, nudge), and typically during this month the pastor is reminded of how much they are appreciated for all the things they do for so many people. For example, leading service on Sundays, praying for people, answering questions, visiting people at all hours of the day, completing paperwork, attending sporting events, hosting meetings, putting together treat bags for you, and making decisions that better the church. Some people think that a Pastor only works on Sundays, but that is far from the truth! And to let the Pastor know that they are appreciated, during the month of October the people of the church show their appreciation through gifts, cards, text messages, phone calls, and kind words.
This is a great month–a great honor and blessing, and sign of respect, and a blessed assurance that what God has called me to do is leaving an impression. But to be honest, I am the one who should be appreciating you. It’s because of you that I have people to lead; it’s because of you that I am able to help people understand the word of God; and it’s because of you that I have been able to call Oblong home for these past four years, and to learn how to laugh and smile at your crazy ideas (like having racoon for Thanksgiving). It’s because of you that I am able to grow and learn as a pastor and find ways to meet your needs. October is the month that I am reminded of all those whom I appreciate. So, thank you for all that you do for myself and for Miss Emily.
Although I extend my appreciation to each of you, I do have to say that this year I was reminded of a much deeper appreciation. For Pastor Appreciation Month, I was gifted the image you see above. The image above showcases fingerprints covering branches of a tree. At one point, the tree was bare–the branches were empty, sort of lifeless. But, soon the branches were given life and color by the numerous fingerprints, imitating leaves. These fingerprints are of those from the church and every fingerprint is unique and special–not one “leaf” is the same.
Did you know you have a fingerprint? When you have time, turn your hands palm side up–facing you–and look at the tips of your fingers. When you look closely, you should see a bunch of lines: curvy, straight, wavy, short, long, and never the same. Those “lines” are your fingerprint, your identity. And your fingerprint was created by God: it doesn’t change and there is no other fingerprint like it in the entire world. The population of the entire world is 8.1 billion people and you are the only one with that fingerprint on your finger. How amazing is that?!
What does scripture say about this? Scripture tells us that the finger of God is unique. During the plagues of Egypt, after failing to replicate the gnats created by Moses, the magicians tell Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Luke 11:20 reminds us that Jesus argues that his ability to cast out demons with God’s power is a sign that God’s finger is with him. Then in John 8:6, while not explicitly saying “God’s finger,” this passage describes Jesus writing on the ground with his finger to save the woman caught in adultery. “God’s finger” is a phrase to remind us of how God works in our life. And at the end of that finger is a fingerprint that can save lives.
Those fingerprints, etched forever on the branches, remind others, myself included, how they are more than paint. They symbolize love, care, support, kindness, hope, and life. Those fingerprints have the ability to save lives. God gave all of us fingerprints that no one else has, so that we can leave an imprint that no one else can. These fingerprints have left an imprint that no one else can!
In the words of Will Fetters, “Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.” Some may see a tree with blotches of color everywhere. But to me, I see tree covered in fingerprints that will never fade from my life. This tree will never lose its leaves; rather, and prayerfully, it will gain so many more leaves that those branches will no longer be seen.
This is all to say, I thank you for thinking of me during Pastor Appreciation Month: your cards, your gifts, and your words are greatly appreciated. And, I appreciate you and for the fingerprint that you have left in my life.
What are you going to do in your life to leave a fingerprint that will never fade?
Your Friend, Pastor Daniel!
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