A Return to Letter Writing
Have you ever been a letter writer? Some of you will
remember what I am talking about in a life before keyboards and faster than
finishing a sentence contact.
I remember. Corresponding through regular mail with paper
and pens, envelopes and occasional stickers and other “slip ins” used to be a
very active part of my life. I spent time every Monday through Saturday (with
few exceptions) immersed in some activity related to note or letter writing. I
had a make shift desk of some sort every place we moved and having places for
stamps and other mailing and writing supplies was the main set up priority. I
would write notes, poems, letters and “jots” down all through the day and
night, knowing I would tuck them into delivery parcels for dear friends and
loved ones.
I wrote or typed on a regular type writer … letters
filled with what I was doing, feeling or seeing around me. I wrote notes to
encourage, Scriptures to edify, jokes to lift up and personal moments to help
the receiver of whatever I was sending to experience a blessing. I spent hours
in shops selling cards and stationery and made sure those in my address book
(from next door to across the world) had something for special events and
occasions, care cards when in need of something and much, much more.
The mail boxes were one of the first things I sought out
when moving into new places and I memorized the mailman’s routines more quickly
than the garbage routes! I loved tucking a stack of outgoing mail into the
mailbox (after checking the addressing info and stamp placement) and my heart
smiled when I saw them picked up and knew they were on their way. I remember
trying to picture each person as they opened what I sent.
What about my own mail box? I watched that with more
eagerness than some get when shopping and was more excited than some on
Christmas when something came for me to open, read and see.
Writing became something of a ministry and I would have
not even considered ever stopping.
When I first heard of emailing ... it was around 1991 -
give or take a year... and I couldn't grasp it. My SIL thanked me for a hand
written letter she got from me and apologized for being too busy to write back.
She went on to say that if we both got email - we could write notes and letters
and send immediately with no cost for postage. It would be 1994 or 1995 before
I had my first aol email. Have you ever seen the movie, "You've Got
Mail"? If so, I can tell you that you got a glimpse of me on the scenes
where Meg Ryan flies to her computer (except I've never had a laptop ;) and
can't wait to read, reply and write emails. It was one of the most amazing
things I had ever seen. At first, I was finding everything I could to print for
my regular mail corresponding. I designed and printed off my own stationery,
learned to copy and paste things I could print, share, and so on. I figured out
how to get clip art for just about everything, how to find images to match so
many topics and then - how to take photos and use them in all sorts of mailing
delights! I spent hours - far too many, I am thinking now - using the computer
for my mail. I could type faster than I wrote by hand and I just couldn't get
over how streamlined it could make my letter writing.
Eventually, I found myself getting busier and busier and
doing more and more to save time. I'm not sure when it happened exactly ... but
I stopped all regular mail and the only time I used my mailbox was to get bills
and junk mail out.
That was many years ago and I have felt God guiding me
back to sending things out by mail as a true ministry. I have gone back and
forth trying to tell myself that it isn't God calling me but just a need for
that familiar love. What I believe now is... whether it is God or my own voice
(and I pray for Him to show me) ... the longing for it hasn't gone away but has
instead grown stronger. God's glory can pour out through something like this
and I am letting go and going with it.
I shared this with my sister several times when she was
living in Florida and she was excited because she missed letter writing (she sent
more out than I ever did!) and had decided herself, to return to the art. I
started writing but haven't broken through my habit of never mailing anything
but she and one of her daughters DID start back. They actually moved back here
to Georgia and they have been sending out letters and receiving them. It
spurred me on to break through and get back to it.
That is my letter writing story and I don't want to make
this too long to read BUT I want to encourage any of you interested in getting
back to letter writing or beginning for the first time.
I will share something I found just today and will close
after that. I will write Part 2 of this soon and include some Pinterest boards,
letter writing sites and so on. What I just found out today is that
April isthe national letter writing month!
