Taking It Personally

We've heard that expression, "Don't take it personal, " right? Well, first of all, I'd be remiss to the English language if I didn't mention that this is poor grammar: Americans turn adverbs into nouns all the time (naughty, naughty), and this is an example. So, you tell me not to take it personallyand, ironically, that's exactly how you often mean it. But I came across this just last night in one of the books I'm reading and found that I truly did take it personally. And that, for once, is a good thing... Consider this:

"In an electronic, need-for-speed, overnight-delivery age, the more personal the invitation the better. A visit is more personal than a call; a call is more personal than a letter; a letter is more personal than e-mail -- a letter with six people's names on it is less personal than one addressed to one person, and an email is about as impersonal as it gets. We are so flooded with e-mails and the medium is so senseless that I have come to believe that in the rank order of inviting, e-mails don't count. But all are better than lying in bed at night waiting for [God] to provide."

(Ok, I added God because the author, Peter Block, wrote "the universe" and, to that, I say "Pishaw.")

But this resonated with me: for instance, I know I don't like it when I get an email that tells me its been sent "to our most valued friends" ... and there's like 200 names on the list. Huh? I also know that I love opening my mail slot and seeing a card with my name on it, written in a dear friend's hand...and it's for me and me alone. Time isn't just money, you know. It's also love. And Evite is fabulous and perfect for some occasions (I've got one coming up, in fact), but a phone call to invite a friend to lunch is more my speed than a "Hey, let's get together sometime" that is never followed by a plan.

God's Word teaches: "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you may also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). I want to matter. I especially want to matter to the people who love me. And, even more than that, I want to make the people I care about know they matter. All the time. Every day. Even if I can't interact with them daily. They should know it, rarely if ever doubt it. I certainly don't want them to lay in the dark asking God if anyone cares about them at all!

I've learned it's rarely in the big that I'll make my biggest mark; rather, it's in the everyday touches of time over convenience, of hard over easy, of loving over being loved that I've made it truly personal.