Shooting Arrows

The poet has written,

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where.
But long years after in the heart of an oak,
I found my arrow still unbroke.

Once you shoot that arrow, you might lose track of where it is, but that doesn't mean that it ceases to be. And years later you might find it "in the heart of an oak."

There's another mystery. When I share my hopes, my dreams, my thoughts with another person and the years pass, I might forget or lose track, but that doesn't mean those thoughts no longer exist.

When you share life with a friend, it lasts and endures and might even show up again, like that arrow.

Solomon said, "Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days" (Eccl. 11:1). A person never knows the ultimate impact of a thought or deed. At first it might not even by noticed, but later it has a tremendous effect. No wonder the apostle Paul urges us to "be careful how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise" (Eph. 5:15).

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth I knew not where.
But long years after in the heart of a friend,
I found my song from beginning to end.