Sometimes you hear sermons where parts of it stick with you for many years. Bill de Jager (former teacher, vice principal, and interim principal of ACS Secondary) once illustrated that every interaction we have in our ordinary days creates this fine thread between you and that person. The more you spend time with someone, the thicker the thread gets. (I wonder if he somehow knew at the time that mere moments after he shared this message, the back-and-forth comments we make on a social media post would come to be called “threads?” But I digress…)

Webs and Threads

Bill had us envision our lives as creating webs everywhere we go, with everything we do and say, and challenged us to think on what webs we want to create.

Did I smile at the cashier at the check out? What about that person I passed on the street? Did I talk to the new kid in class? What about that teammate I rolled my eyes at because he missed the “easy” shot? Or my sibling who I yelled at because they were taking so long in the bathroom? What about those comments I added to that thread on social media? Should I have posted that picture?

You see, not every thread is a positive one.

Sometimes our humanity comes through and we forget that we are image-bearers of Christ and throw out lines, or threads as they were, that we wish we could take back. It happens. I know. I have been there, done that.

A Pleasant Surprise

Which is why, when I entered the hopefully-soon-to-be-renovated age old girl’s bathroom in the secondary science wing one afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to see something completely different than the usual graffiti on the walls. There was no “Susie was here” or “Becky loves Johnny Adam Will” or “Bob is a #$%&.”

The writing on the wall was encouraging, uplifting, supportive, and simply humbling. I am not naïve enough to think that every girl gets along with every other girl, but to see those words gave me hope that there are enough girls who realize that their words matter and what they do counts, and they will use that to make a positive difference!

I know these were not direct interactions, but these girls, through their writing on the wall, interacted with me and made my day better as a result. It tweaked my perspective and reminded me how great our students are. It gave me hope that their social media walls are no different and that they are spreading their encouragement to an even greater audience than those who dare to enter those science wing bathrooms!

What is the writing on your wall?

**EDITOR’S NOTE:  If the girls wish to share their artwork with the greater school community, please email and we have a way you can do that!