Letter writing is fast becoming a lost art of polite society.
I remember that my mother made a great deal about writing a proper "thank you" letter any time we children had been given a gift or had attended a party or a sleep-over.
Of course we had to write other types of letters, as well.
My mother, God bless her, taught us how to greet the recipient of the letter with a:
Dear Jane or
Dear Sir or Madam (not done so much anymore)
Dear Aunt Margie, etc.
Then, after we had written a rough draft of the letter, she would check it for spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes or awkward sentences, and whether I had included all the salient points concerning the party or the gift.
I have a few friends who still write lovely letters to me. How I cherish them. They're something physical that I can store away in a box and pull out to re-read when I need some encouragement. My children write lovely little notes for my birthday.
Those go into the box.
Many of the children I've taught have also given me lovely notes of thanks. Into the box they go.
And the most precious of all are old letters from my then-fiance, Bruce who wrote to encourage me and to express his love during our long separation prior to our wedding.
Most of these letters obviously were written before the days of computers.
But even now I cherish a piece of paper, written by some beloved's own hands.
Today, as I flipped through all the letters of the Apostles, I noted that each letter began with the author first identifying himself:
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle. . . " (Rom. 1:1)
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. . . " (1 Cor.:1:1)
"Paul, an apostle --sent not from men nor my man. . . " (Gal. 1"1)
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. . . " (1 Peter 1:1)
"The elder," (2 John 1:1)
How lovely to open a letter (probably a scroll) and see, right away, that it was the apostle addressing them.
I wish we'd do that instead of merely closing the letter with our name.
I'm not some big-whig, but still I'd like to open with:
"Dena here, a lover of God and a writer, called to proclaim the love and greatness of Him. . . "
You, the recipient would know right away that this letter was going to be something of value.
Unlike an email, I hope that you would pour over my letter with joy, then place it into your own box along with all the other beloved letters you've ever received.
"See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!" (Galatians 6:11 NIV Bible)
Do you love hand-written letters? What is the most precious letter you've received?
I remember that my mother made a great deal about writing a proper "thank you" letter any time we children had been given a gift or had attended a party or a sleep-over.
Of course we had to write other types of letters, as well.
My mother, God bless her, taught us how to greet the recipient of the letter with a:
Dear Jane or
Dear Sir or Madam (not done so much anymore)
Dear Aunt Margie, etc.
Then, after we had written a rough draft of the letter, she would check it for spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes or awkward sentences, and whether I had included all the salient points concerning the party or the gift.
I have a few friends who still write lovely letters to me. How I cherish them. They're something physical that I can store away in a box and pull out to re-read when I need some encouragement. My children write lovely little notes for my birthday.
Those go into the box.
Many of the children I've taught have also given me lovely notes of thanks. Into the box they go.
And the most precious of all are old letters from my then-fiance, Bruce who wrote to encourage me and to express his love during our long separation prior to our wedding.
Most of these letters obviously were written before the days of computers.
But even now I cherish a piece of paper, written by some beloved's own hands.
Today, as I flipped through all the letters of the Apostles, I noted that each letter began with the author first identifying himself:
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle. . . " (Rom. 1:1)
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. . . " (1 Cor.:1:1)
"Paul, an apostle --sent not from men nor my man. . . " (Gal. 1"1)
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. . . " (1 Peter 1:1)
"The elder," (2 John 1:1)
How lovely to open a letter (probably a scroll) and see, right away, that it was the apostle addressing them.
I wish we'd do that instead of merely closing the letter with our name.
I'm not some big-whig, but still I'd like to open with:
"Dena here, a lover of God and a writer, called to proclaim the love and greatness of Him. . . "
You, the recipient would know right away that this letter was going to be something of value.
Unlike an email, I hope that you would pour over my letter with joy, then place it into your own box along with all the other beloved letters you've ever received.
"See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!" (Galatians 6:11 NIV Bible)
Do you love hand-written letters? What is the most precious letter you've received?
Thank you Dena! My mom is the same way!! We always had to write our thank you letters, especially when a gift was involved before we could even use it! It is a valuable lesson to learn to show appreciation for what we are given. Some of my most precious letters or notes are from Krista when she was only 5 1/2 yrs. old. They are precious and the hand of the Lord was clearly in them! God bless you Dena and thanks again for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, A.J. Glad to know other mothers were instilling the art and gift of letter-writing. Writing letters helps us learn thankfulness!
ReplyDeleteHi Dena -
ReplyDeleteI love handwritten letters and notes. Some of the most precious ones are from loved ones now gone to be with the Lord.
Blessings,
Susan :)
Ah, that means even more, Susan.
ReplyDelete