John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NKJV)

My grandfather always carried a notebook and a wee pencil in his shirt pocket to make notes to himself. I recall how we used to make dates to spend time together; he would write my name in his little notebook and say, "Well, now you're penciled in. We have a date." I would then look forward to that special time, and I knew I'd never be replaced by another task or event, because Grandpa had penciled me in to remind himself of our appointment.

These days, I, too, write things down so I won't forget them and miss my appointments: special lunches with friends, the activities happening in the community, or my doctor's appointments. As I took out my small calendar, I thought of Grandpa and smiled, recalling how he often told me I was special to be written in his book. Now, I realize that maybe, just maybe, he needed gentle reminders because his memory, like mine, wasn't as keen as it had once been. Yet, I still felt special to have a place all my own in Grandpa's book.

The Bible tells us that God, too, has written our names down in His Book: "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20b NKJV), "written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelation 21:27b NKJV).

We have an appointment with our heavenly Father, and He will not forget. Our future is secure with Him in heaven because He has promised us that some day, we shall be with Him. We are penciled in when we accept Him as our Saviour. Each of us is special!

Prayer: Dear Father, we thank You for securing our place with You. Thank You for recording our names in Your book and for sending us Your Son to show us the way to You. Amen.

Lauretta Balderston