Old letters

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement

Old letters

I had put off opening and reading the boxes of letters in my attic that had been passed down by my parents. A move plus the pandemic combined with the need to free up some space finally nudged me to dive into the chore. By the end of reading the first letter, the word, ‘chore’ was no longer an apt description of the task. ‘Delight’ was a much better word. ‘Grateful, was another word. I’m so glad my mother saved all those letters my children and I wrote her. I’d forgotten a vast amount of the activities or events those letters recorded. I gained insight on what lay behind some of the difficulties that I couldn’t grasp at the time. I cringed at the immaturity some of my words revealed but that quickly turned to relief, realizing that years provide growth and change in spite of our flaws, whether we see  it or not.  Some letters opened insight into things that puzzled us, but time produced understanding. Some letters brought laughter. Some brought awe at the goodness of God.

Letters are fast becoming a relic of the past. I doubt if the messages of a text, for all it’s benefits of a rapid transmission of thoughts, can create the wondrous memories that a letter can transmit years and years later. Perhaps in these busy, jam-packed days of responsibilities, and chores, we can occasionally take the time to write on paper our thoughts, our love, our thinking. We don’t know what blessing those moments of recording in a journal or in a letter might provide in the future. Perhaps we can preserve a small piece of heritage that records a Christian response to our privilege to live a life here on the planet earth for a space of time. Perhaps some written phrase of love will bring a bit of comfort to someone else needing a lift. Perhaps our written word might someday nudge some descendant to move closer to our God, the author of life and love. God, help us become faithful conveyers of love whether in spoken words, words written on paper, or texts that transmit love in the blink of an eye.