In Praise of Paper!

   Welcome, Friends! After a lengthy absence, we have returned!
And today we'll reflect on that simple, yet vital aspect of our lives, culture, and civilization: paper! Though we live in a digital age- indeed I'm writing this in the virtual world- I'm Old School, and love real stuff printed on real pages I can hold in my hands and still read even if the power goes out.
   Calendars, maps, the Sunday funnies, cash, menus---are all just better in hard copy. And what home gardener doesn't love receiving in his or her mailbox the latest seed catalogs in the Dead of Winter? Flipping through those glossy, colorful pages of photos of carrots, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, squash, and corn melts away the February chill. And each December: how we love sending and receiving Christmas cards with hand-written notes!

   Speaking of notes, how would we ever have made it through high school without taking tons of notes in our 3-ring binders? Truth be told, my first communication with my lovely wife was a little hand-written note with a hastily scrawled smiley face: much more personal than any digital emoji.  Or how could you make a decent Scrap Book without actual scraps of paper concert tickets, movie ticket stubs, post cards (remember those?), church bulletins, and the like?
   And what would you do with all your refrigerator magnets if your kids didn't do their school assignments on actual, real paper? Or how could their teachers honor their efforts without a paper to stick stickers on? Imagine what your home might look like without those construction paper art projects all over the place. Picture your kids' rooms without their favorite posters adorning the walls!
   And tell me your kitchen Junk Drawer isn't crammed with important phone numbers jotted down on paper plates, Post-It notes, or junk mail envelopes! Not to mention random business cards and Chinese food menus with your favorite take-out orders circled. Orders that came with curious little cookies containing great pearls of wisdom just for you on little slips of paper printed in blue or red ink. (Some of those may have made their way into your scrap book if they haven't escaped the junk drawer.)
   And how could your beloved classmates forever express their appreciation for you if you didn't have a Year Book to sign?  To say nothing of your diploma! I could go on and on- and I will.
 How many people today are millionaires because they bothered to check the numbers on a tiny slip of paper they were about to toss out? Go through your automobile's glove box sometime and see how many wonderful treasures you can discover. You may even locate your Registration or insurance cards among the packets of artificial sweeteners, napkins of brown recycled paper, receipts from car repair shops, expired coupons, and my favorite, those itty-bitty salt & pepper packs that come with your fast food sporks. Maybe under that road map you never could figure out how to fold right.
   Yes, paper is a huge part of our lives, and may even figure in our Eternity.  Back in the day, we would pass out simple leaflets of Gospel Tracts along the way. Who knows who may be in Heaven right now because one day some stranger, friend, or co-worker handed them a bit of paper that informed them, for the first time possibly,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not  perish, but have everlasting life.

   It's true! 

      For all these things and more, paper is something we love about life.