A Changed Me or 3x3? | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: A Changed Me or 3x3? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Cyndie Odya-Weis
09/04/05
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“Having fun, wish you were here.” I wanted to let my friends know that I was on vacation- especially Shauna who seemed to be on monthly Caribbean cruises or Las Vegas junkets.

“The Frank Lloyd Wright architecture is beyond comparison,” I penned to my persnickety neighbor whose tastes over-rode her budget from time-to-time. (I saw the late payment notice when I peeked at her mail)

“The bouquet of the Pinot Noir was incomparable- and to be in the valley where the very grapes burst forth from the vines….mmmmmm,” I’ll just show Stefan that I didn’t need him to be my wine aficionado.

“I awoke on my 600-thread- count sheets,” I’ll rub it in to Kristine so that she knows that I too, stayed in the best hotels.

Such were my postcards BEFORE I thumbed through the Gideon in the hotel nightstand drawer.

Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31 (NIV)

The words spoke to my heart. I was boasting. When it’s my best vacation ever and I’m having the time of my life, I want to tell about it. But I was boasting. I paused.

I thought about my week and I remembered HIS gifts to me.

Awesome scenery and wildlife shouted God’s name as we drove through lush countryside. Natural wonders that God made and amazing architecture created by geniuses with God-given talents titillated my senses with sights and sounds and smells I’d never even imagined. New foods awakened my palette at quaint local bistros and bakeries.

I reconnected with family and friends I hadn’t seen in decades, and our words bubbled over as if we’d never parted. Intimate late- night conversations with my family blossomed as the routine of day-to-day life was miles and hours away.

The word “relaxation” developed new meaning and “recreation” tolled the epitome of the word; I was RE- creating from the inside out on my magnificent trip.

I was filled to over-flowing and wanted to share with family and friends at home. But how could I possibly capture my virtual renaissance in the 3”x3” square on a postcard message?? “Having fun, wish you were here???” Somehow that just didn’t work to describe the vacation of all vacations.

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” I’d heard before. Hoping that the old adage would hold true, I choose the perfect picture postcard to share. Yet my experience could not fit into the thousand words of a picture even when paired with the 35 or so words that fit in the 3x3.

Somehow, trying to fit an apt description of my vacation sentiments into a 3”x3” space is like telling all I knew about God’s grace in a single conversation…. or in a well-written essay, or in one short lifetime. It simply can’t be done.

SO how could I say it all in the Biblical guidelines of boasting only of GOD’S creation? And within the guidelines of the 3x3 postcard section?

I simply wrote “God is awesome, and I sincerely thank Him for this wonderful vacation and for having a friend like you to send this postcard to.”

I knew there would be plentiful chances to boast about God’s world and His gifts to me.

But even more, I know deep inside that when my senses are filled to the brim with luscious sights and sounds and smells and tastes and human emotion, that I am changed. RE-Created. Continuously. And the changed me will be a living testimony. And it doesn’t need to fit in a 3x3.

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