Rick and I took a roadtrip this weekend. We were headed to Steamboat Springs to attend my nephew’s birthday party for the day and decided to take the scenic route. For those of you familiar with Colorado by-ways, we went north on I-25, up through Ft. Collins and through the Poudre Canyon. It was beautiful. The leaves were turning and the weather was perfect.

Like many other road trips, we were also listening to a book on tape. This particular book wasn’t one of our favorites, but it did have an interesting plot and provided an interesting insight about the word “sincere.” We wouldn’t have thought much about it except that the very next day, as we were visiting a friend’s church, the pastor brought up the same thing in his sermon!

I honestly believe that coincidence is God’s way of trying to get through to us sometimes, so after the sermon I began to really think and pray about what He might be wanting me to learn. Let me try to explain…

My understanding is that the word “sincere” was first used as a description of a statue that was perfectly made. The etymology of the word meaning “without wax.” Apparently many statues contained wax where the sculpturers covered up flaws and mistakes. Sincere meant that the art was in its purest form.

How sincere am I? How many times have I written “sincerely” at the bottom of a letter without really understanding what that meant? Are my motives always pure? I’m thankful for this reminder to consider my words and actions more carefully and to listen more attentively.

Without Wax,

Debb