How often do you have an impulse to write a note of appreciation for a job well done or for a solo beautifully sung? To phone a shut-in, to bake a pie for a sorrowing family, or to congratulate a young person for his or her accomplishment? But how often does that impulse die aborning? Whether that good impulse is the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit or is the response of your own generous spirit, it is worth doing. Its fruit will probably be far more significant than you could ever imagine. That note or call may provide the courage to go on one more day, may even avert tragedy. It will surely bring a little joy and sunshine in what may be an otherwise joyless day. The serendipity is that following your good impulse brings warmth and light to your life, too. FOLLOW YOUR GOOD IMPULSE!
Pastor Geiger's Collection of Pithy Sayings
Did you ever play the part of an angel? It was the summer of 1970 when we moved from Mexico to the States. Dad and David drove up separately with the furniture. Mom, Cindy, and I took a bus. After hours of riding through Mexico’s boring northern desert, we had to endure an all-night layover at the Laredo bus station. Sometime around midnight, the twenty-something son of another missionary family “showed up.” He was living in Laredo at the time and “just happened” to recognize us as he passed by the bus station. Imagine Mom’s gratitude when that young man not only greeted us, but followed his good impulse to hang out with us in the waiting room. For several hours, he demonstrated his knack for entertaining kids. Cindy and I were mesmerized by his drawings. Almost forty years later, I can still picture the three-masted man-o’-war that he drew for us on that long night. (Good doodlers have always fascinated me, even in the back row of an otherwise boring seminary class… but don’t tell anyone).
Years later, reflecting on that night, Mom said, “It was almost like God sent an angel to entertain Brad and Cindy!”
Sometimes God sends angels to render remarkable service, but I fancy that His first choice is “mere” humans… men and women who live out the saying, FOLLOW YOUR GOOD IMPULSE.
I created this calligraphy immediately after the birth of my second son. I was taking pain meds as I recovered from a C-section, which made me fuzzy-headed. Which is why Pastor Geiger’s saying was “Follow your good impulse,” but I lettered the word “impulses.” And my first draft said, “Follow your *own* good impulses,” which wasn’t right. I remember the Holy Spirit nudging me to check it out before lettering it, but I didn’t. And I was wrong. And had to do it again.
I’ve gotten a lot better at listening to those holy nudges in the years since. 🙂