A Word About Writing

I read something about writing the other day I could hardly believe, concerning a man named Mr. Surendra Kumar. He lives in the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, and he has a very unique talent. He is a writer. That wouldn’t necessarily qualify him as an out-of-the-ordinary person, but he’s mentioned SEVEN times in the Guinness Book of World Records as a writer. In one sense, I suppose you could say he’s a man of few words. But, I think it would be more accurate to say he’s a man of small words. No. Wait. Not small. Tiny words. He’s a writer of very tiny words.

His writing and his words have to be tiny because he doesn’t write on paper, like the rest of us do. No. He writes on very small things; things like grains of rice, or strands of human hair. Mr. Surendra holds the world record of writing 1,749 characters on a single grain of rice. Just out of curiosity, I did some investigating and learned that Mr. Surender could take one grain of rice and record all of the Ten Commandments on it, and still have room for almost all of the 23rd Psalm if he wanted to.

After painstakingly writing things like names or profound sayings on those grains of rice, artisans often encase them in clear resins and make bracelets or necklaces. I guess some people in India buy one single grain of rice to hang around their necks, hoping the tiny words written there will impart good luck, or happiness or the favor of one of the thousands of gods that are worshipped there. When I read about Mr. Surender, the first thing I thought was: ‘He sure must have great eyesight.’

In Proverbs, chapter 3, the Wise Man Solomon records an important truth about what we focus on with our lives. The words he wrote down are not tiny. They are profound. “Let love and faithfulness never leave you;” writes the Wise Man. “Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Prov. 3:3) There’s no question that a man who can put 1749 tiny characters on one grain of rice must have incredible eyesight. But the man who is decides to let his focus be on God’s love and faithfulness — the woman who binds the love and faithfulness of God around her neck, and sees those words etched into the very fabric of her heart — the servants of God who are determined to never stop noticing all of the wonderful blessings we get to enjoy every day don’t have to hang their hope on something as tiny as a grain of rice.

If we’re paying attention, we don’t have to squint our eyes to see God’s expressions of love and faithfulness every day. I love how Eugene Peterson paraphrased Ps. 19:1, ” God’s glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening.” That’s a thought I can wrap my heart around. That’s a truth I can hang my hat on.