ENCOURAGING NOTES FOR YOUR KIDS

I’ve been writing notes on a napkin and putting them in my kids’ lunchboxes for years. Some are funny, some are serious. But to me, it’s just a way to tell them I love them and to make them smile, think, laugh or blush at the school lunch table.

One day, I took a picture of a napkin I thought was clever, and posted it on my Instagram account to share with my buddies. I had no thought of it going viral, but it did. Apparently, it reminded people of things their family used to do to make their day brighter. So I continued to post my napkins each morning and they continued to get very heartwarming reactions. The number of followers kept growing. I came up with a name for them: Napkinisms.

Someone at the Chick-fil-A Foundation heard about these napkins. Since they provide free lunches every week to needy kids in the inner city of Atlanta, they asked if I could create a napkin to be placed in each free lunch. A few years later, our local Children’s Hospital asked if I could provide one each day for every kid staying in the hospital. So that’s what I’m doing.

I’m not trying to change the world through Napkinisms. I just hope I can change someone’s day, and let kids know somebody thinks they’re special. I know how significant that can be. If I’ve been gifted by God with certain talents, then it’s my responsibility to use these gifts. And I believe God has directed me to pursue this. My wife tells me it’s not about what I write or the message itself. It’s the fact that this could be showing other dads a silly and fun way to let kids know you love them, that they’re important, that they’re worth your time.

The influence and appeal of these napkins is not from me, it’s from God. I’m just following His call, showing people that even small things can display our love for Him. I don’t know what God will do with this. I know it’s my job to just show up and do it.