"Mr. Postman, Look and See. Is There a Letter in Your Bag for me?"

Thessalonians 5:27
I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

My daughter, Sarah, has been teaching our granddaughter, Virginia Rose, her letters and numbers for a few months now.  Although Virginia isn't technically reading yet, this practice of spelling out words under her mother's guidance will certainly accelerate the process.

To make these exercises more fun and personal, Sarah has Virginia pen two letters:  one to my mother, Nana, and the other to my husband, Danny's, mother, Nonna.  (Yes, Virginia gets confused at times since the grandmothers' monikers sound so much alike.)  This is the result of the letter to my mother.

I have to tell you, I am truly impressed by Virginia's penmanship at age four, and that she knows her lower case as well as upper!  And, of course, you can imagine how thrilled Nana and Nonna are to receive such a special written note from their great-granddaughter.  It is refrigerator magnet display in both their houses!

~

At her marvelous blog, In Search of Tree Stars, my friend since high school, Pam Stevens, recently posts about the dying art of letter writing.  You can read her reflection in its entirety here, and I highly recommend that you do!  What Pam shares about the treasure trove of letters she rediscovers, notes and reflections from dear loved ones who have since passed, touches me deeply.  Makes me want to dig through the countless folders of correspondence my mother has collected over the years.  To reconnect with a past long gone, but one I still carry in my heart.

And, I have these thoughts:  What would the early church have looked like without Paul's letters?  For that matter, what would our lives as Christians in the 21st century be like if our New Testament failed to contain them?  And, imagine this:  Had there been today's technology available to 1st century Christians, would Paul have used e-mail to send his missives?

Would the early followers of The Way dutifully printed them out to share with their community?  Or, God forbid, would a disgruntled member whom Paul chastised simply hit the delete button? >shudder<!  Would Paul have a blog where he posted his letters?  What if he just tweeted them?  Or, took a selfie of his poor soul in prison?

Where would we be???

Sadly, as Pam notes, the hand-written letter seems to be going the way of the Dodo bird.  Unless we consciously and conscientiously write a memoir of our lives for our children and grandchildren, it is unlikely our voice will be heard in their lives after we're gone.

While tweets and Facebook blurbs, texting and e-mail drops are quick and efficient in the moment, they, unlike the old-fashioned letter, will not endure.

A bloom in the moment.  Chaff in the wind.

Is that where our legacy lies?

~

When was the last time you sent a hand-written letter to a friend or loved one?  When was the last time Mr. Postman delivered one to you?

Prayer:  Father, we thank You for the letters of Paul to the early church which continue, generations later, to convey Christ's teaching and encourage us to pursue Your righteousness in our thoughts, words and deeds.  May our own lives, lived in Your name, leave a legacy of faith, hope and love to the generations which follow us.  It is in Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen.

Here is the link to the Mr. Postman song.  Hope you will listen and enjoy!

PLEASE NOTE:  Meditations of My Heart will be on hiatus next week.  Please come back to visit on Tuesday, November 18th for a brand new post.  Blessings, everyone!