behind your back

A couple of days ago I mentioned the cross stitch in my office at church. Today I want to reflect on a painting that hangs in my study at home.

This (I think) is a painting of the Romanian town of Timisoara. It is certainly where it was bought for me. It was a gift from my friends in the European Baptist Federation Youth and Children’s Worker’s Conference (quite a mouthful with an unpronounceable acronym EBFYCWC). I had the joy and privilege of being part of that group in my time when I worked for the Baptist Union of Great Britain, and for a while I was chair of the group. This painting was given to me at my last conference.

I cherish it because it prompts happy memories of friends across Europe.

I cherish it because it reminds me to pray for them (their next conference starts at the end of the week in Ukraine – be blessed!)

I cherish it most because on the back my friends wrote some kind and encouraging words. Those words are hidden from view, but there are there nonetheless. I don’t often get the picture down to read the words: knowing that they are there is an encouragement in itself. Most people who see the picture are unaware of what is on the back.

So what have we said or done recently to write something encouraging on someone’s back? It will be something of which nobody else will be aware, but may make a real difference to that person.

A magician was booked on a cruise liner but his act was ruined every night by a parrot that sat on a perch in the lounge. While he was vanishing a dove the parrot would shout out, “It’s behind his back” [see the connection?] While he was performing a card trick the parrot would squawk, “It’s up his sleeve.” And when he made a spectator’s watch vanish the parrot would shriek, “It’s down his trousers, it’s down his trousers.”

One night as the magician was attempting to do his act under the scrutiny of the parrot the ship hit a rock and sank. The magician clung onto one of the wooden cabinets from his act and lay on top of it, waiting to be rescued. A short distance away the parrot sat floating on some debris, watching the magician intently. He never took his eyes off the magician for two days.

Eventually he flew over to the magician and said, “All right, I give up. Where did you put the ship?”