You Are a Letter

Hand writing letters is a lost art. I remember writing a few to my girlfriend (now my wife) and her to me. Whether it’s an actual letter, a short note, or thoughtful words on a card, there’s something about taking pen to paper and thinking about what you want to say. That intentional pause stretches your mind and heart to find the best words to express your thoughts. Devoting that time and energy is an expression of love. Your words don’t have to be a masterpiece for the other person to feel that love when they read it. Holding that piece of paper is enough for them to know you made time for them. That alone is enough to say, “I care enough about you as a person and want you to know I was thinking about you.” That other person may be alone reading it, but they don’t feel lonely. They feel the warmth of your presence and spirit.

Whether you realize it or not, you are a figurative letter to people daily. Your words, tone, facial expressions, and behavior all add up to a letter you’re writing on people’s hearts you encounter.

Do people see a patient, meek, loving, and compassionate person? Do they see something different in you that makes them curious? Do they desire it themselves? Do they say, “There’s something about them I really like, and I wish I knew something of it in my life?”

Live as though your daily letters will be published as a memoir at the end of your life. Will it be a memoir to be proud of? Will it be worthy of a, “Well done?”

Your memoir can be a book for all to see the love of God in you – a love letter to the world. The markings will be there: Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Gentleness. Faithfulness. Self-Control. Life is a laboratory of learning how to love. God wants to build your character. He’s more concerned about your character than your comfort.

The main tools God uses to build your character are relationships with other people. Every day you get hundreds of opportunities to think about the other person instead of yourself. Those opportunities are the stories in your memoir.

Only you can determine the content of your letters and what they will reveal to those who read them. Like any good story, the main character is flawed but can be reconciled and redeemed. The question is … will they be? If so, that will make it worth the read and maybe even a best seller!