Stickers Make Me Smile

For adults, stickers are things that are purely functional. On your car's license plate they serve as proof that your car has a valid registration. On a vehicle's windshield it shows when your car is due for an oil change. 

One of my favorite stickers is the orange one that tells me that the very nice looking steak in the Kroger meat case is on "special". 

Yes, when it comes to stickers adults pretty much have an "all business" relationship with them. 

The closest a grownup comes to "playing" with stickers is a label maker. I use one quite often. But due to the cost of the replacement tape I only use it when I need to mark something really important. 

For children, stickers mean fun and recognition. Kids love them and love playing with them. Just look around at any toy store you'll see sticker sets and sticker books everywhere.

What child doesn't get a kick out of seeing a sticker with "nice job", "good work" or some other encouraging words from their teacher on a test or homework?

On the home front stickers can serve as markers for children to put on charts to keep track of chores or other responsibilities. 

Only with their parent's permission of course, kids can have fun and decorate their world with stickers of their favorite characters.

Stickers are special to kids, especially young children. That's why some stickers, long forgotten by the children they were originally given to, hold some special significance for me. 

This "happy face" sticker has had a place on the visor above the driver's seat of my Saturn Vue. I put it there a couple of years ago when a little girl at church gave it to me during Children's church one Sunday. 

The day I got it, I had given each of the children a sticker just like it at the start of the class as part of a lesson illustration.

During our craft time close to the end of the session one of the little girls came up to me and put her sticker on my shirt. She told me that it was her present to me as a "thank you" for teaching her about Jesus. As simple as it was, that sticker became an instant treasure to me. A tangible representation of the unseen reward for serving in Children's ministry. 

On the way home from church I put the sticker on the visor so I would see it every time I drove somewhere. It's been there at least 2 years, maybe even longer. 

I've given stickers out during children's church many times since then but that happy face sticker is still the one that's my inspiration.

The last Sunday in January, I went to visit my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. During our visit Paula, Brandi and James were busy in the kitchen making dinner. Aria was in her room playing by herself. I was in the living room watching TV. 

I went into the bedroom to play with Aria. She had found a couple of small sheets of Disney stickers. She was putting them on her toy box. Knowing that she needed to play with them in a better way, I took her into the living room. We started putting stickers on notebook paper. 

I got the idea to allow her to put stickers of Mickey and a couple of his friends on my phone protection cover. This way I could have a reminder of our special sticker time together. Here's the stickers she decided to give to Papa. 

Those stickers and the time we spend playing with them are probably long forgotten by Aria by now. But from here on out, I have a memory of my time with my granddaughter that's as close as my smartphone. Perhaps at some time in the future when I'm in a "not so good" place or things are going badly I will go to make a call and that "hidden Mickey" on my Otter box will brighten my mood just a little.  

In addition to the one on my visor, now the stickers on my cell phone cover make me smile as well.  What are your special reminders?