I got a gift from Brenda the other day - a belated Christmas, nice-to-see you, thanks for supporting me gift from one of my favorite missionaries and one of the top-10 people in the world - seriously, she's that cool - one of the top 10 in the world (and probably one of the only readers of my blog, so hey, I gotta love her!).. anyway, she had some fun little things in the gift-bag, but as I was typing my "thanks for giving me this" e-mail I realized what I loved most was the card, because she had written me a note on it and I love her handwriting. It's curvy, neat, feminine, symmetrical and makes me smile - she has happy handwriting and it reminds me of her. She makes a flower over some letters, but not in a high-school Tiffani with a heart over the "i" annoying kind of way, but in a nice, "Brenda likes to make things pretty" kind of way...This got me to thinking about how much we have lost in our quest for speed and "continuous improvement". Handwritten cards and notes are the exception now, not the rule.. e-mail and text messages are the communication channels of choice. And for the most part I agree. But an e-mail message just doesn't look as pretty in a scrapbook.. and you can't fold a text message up in your pocket.. Even when I do send letters/notes, for the most part I buy a Hallmark card that someone else has penned... oh, I add a little note at the bottom, but the main part of the card is printed.
For Valentine's Day Greg surprised me with the flower delivery to work on Monday (see picture in the post below), but he also sent me Valentines in the mail - every day for 4 days - and I loved them! They were silly and sweet but he had written little comments on them that made me smile and fall a little bit more in love with him (he even covered the envelopes with little heart stickers.. so sweet!!). I loved reading his little notes partly because I enjoy seeing how her wrote them - his handwriting.
What is it that is so special about handwriting? Everyone's is different. It says something about you. Handwriting analysts would say that it gives clues as to the personality of the writer. In this automatic, one-size-fits-all culture the act of sitting down and writing to one person is very deliberate and honoring. When I think of "real" handwriting I think of someone with a quill and ink scratching out really important words on parchment - the Magna Carte, Shakespeare writing a play, or an ancient scribe writing the Scriptures on a scroll. I can almost hear the pen tip scratch the surface of the paper...
There are a few letters/cards that I have kept over the years - letters from my dad when he was out at sea with the navy, notes from my mom encouraging me after I had moved away, love letters from old boyfriends, and correspondence from dear friends affirming me. It's fun to pull them out from time to time and be reminded that yes, there are some people on the planet who think I'm ok, or even fabulous! And even though they aren't written by His hand, the Bible is the collection of God's letters to us - His love letters, His little notes to encourage and inspire us, His reminders that He thinks we're fabulous. I've been keeping a prayer journal for over 10 years now and it is fun to go back and see how God was using a verse or situation to teach me - when I see His word in my handwriting it becomes more a part of me... when I pray a verse or claim a promise, His words back to Him - then the verse becomes more alive and real to me.
What's God been writing to you lately? Are you reading His letters? I'll bet there is something fabulous waiting for you!
