Friends Rub Off On Us Like Chalk

I saw this graphic, then read what it was about. The young students were asked to give an illustrative talk. One youngster came to the front of the classroom, then wrote “FRIENDS” on the chalkboard. Then he asked another student to come up and wipe their hand on the word. The message in the action was the chalk rubbing off on his hand just like friends rub off on us. I thought….oh there is a blog coming from this young man! Thanks, Buddy!

Whoa-la, my inspiration for today’s blog! That’s how I roll – a chalkboard, a billboard, words of a speaker or friend, a personal predicament or blessing, a dream, another friend’s post, a fleeting thought – all of which are who or what gives me the inspiration for my daily blog.

Most of all, I recognize God’s nudge each time. This graphic truly inspired me because I don’t want to allow the negativity of others, which is plentiful in our world today, to “rub off on me”. We sure don’t want cranky, mean-spirited, and negative voices to influence our attitude and our spirits, especially when our world needs more bright lights and believers who are bound and determined to be GOOD NEWS broadcasters.

It’s taken a life of experiences for me to conclude that joy, peace, hope, and love talk is a much better choice than bitterness, anger, and defeat talk. I desire, more than anything, to be a positive influence on others – so much so that I am overly optimistic – maybe even to the point of being annoying to those who prefer the cloudy day over a day bursting with sunshine, birds singing and flowers blooming.

But I want to rub off on them. And I want those joy-filled, faith-talking, day-brightener people rubbing off on me. I want to hang out with those who fill me with courage because I see how they are conquering life’s stuff and they assure me that I can too! I want them to rub off on me.

Don’t get me wrong. I do spend time with those who aren’t “sunshine on a cloudy day” kinds-of-people, but I know those are the ones who I can be the sunshine they need. I want to rub off on them.

We can be difference makers and we can BE THE CHANGE others need. Rather than allowing those down-and-outers to steal our time and energy or even complaining about them, we can choose to BE THE CHANGE. We can strike up a conversation about something pleasant. Rather than giving needless thought to their attitude, we can choose to BE THE CHANGE and think about the beautiful things in our life. We can take back the day and turn it into a day of gratitude, joy, and peace. We can make a conscious effort to be the change!

If we become the company we keep, then the company I want to keep is hanging out more with God. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him. His nature starts to manifest, not only inside of us but on the outside as well. We’ll start to act like Him. God will rub off on us and, hopefully, we’ll rub off on others!

“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.” Proverbs 13:20