September 2010

Heartprints!

Whatever our hands touch, we leave fingerprints -- on walls, on furniture, on doorknobs, and windowpanes.  There is no escape . . . as we touch we leave our identity.  No two fingerprints are the same because they are unique to each person. I would like to acquaint you with another type of print.  This print is called a HEARTPRINT.  It is defined as: “the impression left behind by a deliberate act of kindness; simple acts of sharing God’s love”.  This year at Littlest Angels we will be training the little ones about the importance of leaving heartprints wherever they go!  Mostly we’ll exemplify it by our behavior and attitudes but we will also be using a book written for young children by P.K. Hallinan called Heartprints. Now, you cannot see HEARTPRINTS because, unlike fingerprints, they are invisible. But oh, are they for real!  When your love touches others it leaves a HEARTPRINT behind. It’s more often than not the quiet kindnesses that leave their marks on our hearts and lives. It’s things like a friendly smile, an arm around weary shoulders, a pleasant hello, a plate of cookies, an unexpected hug from a child, the right words said at just the right time, a warm meal, a listening ear,  a prayer, a servant’s heart . . . the list could go on and on and on.  An unknown author wrote this prayer about HEARTPRINTS:

“Oh God, wherever I go today,
Help me leave heartprints!
Heartprints of compassion, understanding and love.
Heartprints of kindness and genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter or an anxious mother,
Or even an an aged grandfather.
Send me out today to leave heartprints.
And if someone should say,
“I felt your touch,”
May that one sense Your love through me.”
AMEN

Will you join us in our aspiration to leave heartprints everywhere and touch people for Jesus?  And don’t forget to keep your eyes open for reminders of God’s love for you. His heartprints are everywhere!  In a baby’s laugh, in a promotion, in a beautiful sunrise, in a good meal, in a healed relationship, in His unconditional love . . .

“Yes, heartprints can heal us
With the power of love.
They lift up our spirits
Like the wings of a dove.
And it’s joyful to know
In all that we do,
The heartprints we give out
Make us happy too!”

                                                -- P.K Hallinan

How many heartprints will you leave today?

Sincerely,
Kathy Stinson, Director