Love Messages In Unexpected Places

--by starryskies, posted Oct 10, 2012

I was traveling to visit my sister who lives a few states away. It was about a six hour drive and I stopped at quite a few gas stations along the way. One stop was in a small town that looked just like countless others I had passed on my way, but it turned out to be very different.

When I entered the gas station the two girls working at the register smiled and said hello. They had a very friendly, welcoming energy and I smiled and greeted them back. Then I made my way to the restroom. I was surprised to see that there were positive messages written all over the stalls!

Now, I'm not advocating graffiti here, but this experience did inspire me to leave positive messages in bathroom stalls on post-its, along with pens & blank post-its for others to add, during my next road trip!

I took a picture of the messages with the camera on my phone because I wanted to remember them. So often bathroom stalls are filled with pretty negative things so this one really stood out! I guess it's the last place I expected to find messages like these, and it was a welcome surprise in the midst of a long trip.

The messages were written in all different handwriting styles, sizes, and ink colors, probably a reflection of the diversity of the women who left them. There were notes from all different states and comments about road trips, adventures, support and encouragement. It was fun reading them and definitely made me smile.

Here's a sample of a few of the more uplifting ones -

"No matter what don't give up."

"Smile"

"God loves you"

"We all go through something, let your something make you beautiful, let your something make you strong."

"Love God with ALL your heart."

"I dream so big for you, you have to grow into them."

"Be who you are and say what you feel."

"You're BEAUTIFUL don't ever forget that!"

"You can keep going - even when you think you can't!"

As I left, I said goodbye to the girls behind the counter who had knowing smiles on their faces. I left feeling a little lighter and inspired, with a smile on my own. Since then I have actually passed some of these messages on to others hoping they will uplift someone else as well.

I guess this experience taught me that you never know where you'll find the goodness of the world, where you'll find inspiration, where messages of love are going to pop up and surprise you. They might even be found in the most unexpected of places, like a bathroom stall in Wenona, IL.

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Posted by starryskies
Oct 10, 2012
Comments (10)

Readers Comments

annjav wrote: That is a really cool idea, and such a nice experience for you. I wonder if the girls in Wenona know they are famous now.

moral12 wrote: I agree to not advocate writing on bathroom stalls, but, leaving the post-it notes with positive sayings seems like a nice idea! Thanks for sharing.

cf wrote: Great idea, the post-its. I've never really come across positive messages on the stall doors. Thanks for sharing!

denisemj wrote: How encouraging that is a neat idea! Thanks for sharing :)

starryskies wrote: :) Thanks everyone for your comments! Glad you like the idea! :)

gimpytj7 wrote: I love this too! I think I will try it the next time I stop to use the restroom at a gas station!

MakeSomeoneSmile wrote: It certainly made me smile! Simple idea and easy for anyone to try, thanks for sharing! :)

jsmc10 wrote: Wow, this is amazing, i'd love to do this with post it notes too! :)

bjorose wrote: What a wonderful thing to do. I will start carrying around post-it notes and maybe, just maybe i can start something very cool.

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