Hidden Writing

 

Years ago, I worked on an old house on Lookout Mt. helping to build an addition on the side.  We had to tear into the old roof in order to connect the new roof to it.  Underneath the shingles I discovered pencil marks on the boards of the decking.  A carpenter had used the board as a tablet to add up his work hours for the week, his rate of pay, and the money that was due to him.  he then nailed the board onto the roof.  Since this was part of the original roof, I knew that this writing had been penciled in 1880 when the house was built.  I felt like an archaeologist making an ancient discovery.  That gave me pause to think.  From that day on, I began signing my name and the date in hidden places on work that I did.  I built a fireplace chimney in Harrison, TN and in the mortar cap I scratched, “Gerald Whitely 1985.”  And then I added, “Jesus Saves.”  As I descended the ladder, I wondered who would see my writing in years to come?  I have put my words inside of walls on sheet rock before I nailed it up.  I wrote Bible verses on the back of boards used for steps.  I wrote verses on the back of baseboard nailed to the walls.  I worked on a bathroom and wrote on the bottom of the sink before installing it.  I hope whoever finds my writing will stop and think, and will search out a Bible to look up the verses that I cited.  David said in Psalm 119:105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  David wrote these words almost 3,000 years ago!  And they are still being read today!  Hey, you just read them!  And hey, you are reading these, my words!  Think about what you have just read and be intentional about how you live your life today.