Monday, June 29, 2009

Life is Good

On our road trip we saw so many unique, strange, and "questionable" bumper stickers...it always amazes me what people choose to stick onto their vehicles. Sometimes I wonder if they realize that whatever message is stuck to their vehicle may be the only thing that others remember them by.

When you are on a longer road trip you usually spot vehicles that you have passed before along the way. You stop for a bathroom break, gas or food, get back onto the interstate and see vehicles that you had passed awhile ago. You can tell that you have passed them before because of some definable feature about their vehicle: bumper stickers, antlers in the back window, etc.

A close friend of mine had a sticker on the back of her vehicle supporting a member of congress for a very long time. It was how I recognized her vehicle in school pick up lines and around town. When they took it off, I had trouble recognizing her vehicle. It had become a part of how I recognized her.

My husband and I are not big bumper sticking kind of people. I suppose mostly it is because we don't like to deal with the eventual "scraping off" of them when they wear out. However, I believe that we all portray some kind of "message" by who we are, how we dress, and how we treat others.

One of our Mentor Moms at our MOPS group this year did a fabulous devotional on this subject. About how it is important to stop in front of mirrors occasionally and to check the message that your face is sending to those around you. The awesome thing is that if we realize that the message that we are sending is not what we want to be sending, we have the power to choose to change it. It may take some concentrated effort and prayer, but we are able to choose the messages that we are sending others. John 13:34 says, "...By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Our messages are meaningful and important. People send their messages in any way that they can. For some, their life's messages are plastered on the back of their vehicles.

Some of the bumper stickers that stood out to us this trip were: "Back off! I'm emotionally unstable," "It's better to have loved and lost than spent your whole life with the psycho," "People who love Jesus tip the pizza guy," and my favorite, "Life is good." Have you seen any interesting ones lately?

Many Blessings!

Shanda

This is a re-post from a trip we took last summer. (I will let you know what interesting bumper stickers we saw this trip after we return!) Thank you so much to all who are praying for us as we travel!

2 comments:

Sue said...

I haven't seen any bumper stickers lately, but I feel the same way as you - don't want to have to deal with them on my own car - lol

What I did think as I read your post though is how it reminded me of when I saw a program on t.v. about being "hip to be holy" - it was about current churches in my City. What struck me was the faces of the people on the video in the midst of singing worship. Not many looked like they were enjoying themselves which made me ponder what my face looks like during my Sunday service. Would my face reflect the love and Light of Jesus and draw others to Him? So now, I am conscious of the message my face is sending out.

Thanks for another insightful and challenging post! God bless you!!

Anonymous said...

This reminded me of that passage in the Bible where it says that the disciples were common men but it was evident that they had been with Jesus. How awesome would it be if we were identified that way.

One of the stickers I saw recently said, "MIDWIVES. We help people out."