Mailbox Sheltering - Part 1

To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.                                                              ~Phyllis Theroux

The beautiful flowing handwriting of my mother, the almost-too-tiny-to-read script of my sister, the artistic scrawl of RB or the careful printing of a young friend...  What is there about opening that mailbox and seeing a hand addressed envelope?  I'm aware that many of you may grab that envelope and tear it open, eagerly reading the news but I'm not one of them.  When I find a personal envelope in my mailbox I like to put it aside on the table beside my favorite chair.  I tend to my duties, anticipating the opening of the the envelope.  Then when I have a few minutes to relax, I enjoy my visit with the friend who sent it.

With the advent of e-mail and social media, handwritten letters are becoming fewer and fewer.  We use the excuse that we don't like our handwriting, we're too busy, or we don't know what to say.  Jotting a note is easy, you say -- a couple sentences with your signature.  We'll be talking about notes and their importance this week, but for now I'm writing about letters.  The kind that rambles with funny stories, gossipy (the good kind) news and remembrances from the past.  A letter for a parent, grandparent, sibling or favorite aunt.

Add to that formula a few shared dreams, ideas for projects we are starting (writing or sewing) and it's the kind letter I would write to Shannon who knows my life inside and out.  I could create a letter after not speaking to her for a month and it would be like I had talked to her just the day before.

I recently found a pile of letters from Shannon and had to sit down and read each one.  She worked [long ago] in a Day Care and used the kids' nap time to write letters.  No fancy stationery -- just a page torn out of a notebook, a page of printer paper or whatever was within reach.  One was even written with a pencil.   A few had written before our fire -- I treasure the ordinary comments about Sarah like, "What size tights does Sarah wear?  I picked some up hoping they would fit her."  These particular letters were easy to distinguish -- with soot forever embossed on the envelopes.

I have another collection of letters -- written long before our fire.  Without them I wouldn't be writing this post.  They became my anchor even before I learned how to read them for myself, as I listened to my mother and Sunday School teachers read them.  Fast forwarding, the memorized ones seeped in between the pain and gave me hope.  Now on ordinary days I read at my bookmarked place, in a soft, rambling way.  On days I'm struggling with pain I find myself reading at a somewhat frantic pace.  In joy, the words bubble, floating into my heart.  In sorrow, they are glued to the page, requiring me to carefully scrape them off and re-glue them to my heart.

Dr. Larry Crabb wrote, From God to You: 66 Love Letters -- A conversation with God that invites you into His Story.  I'm still in the first few pages of the book, but I'm loving it. Shannon wrote letters from the Day Care Center; God's letters originated in the sheep pasture, the palace -- even prison.

Why did we allow life and the proliferation of social sites to take the place of letters?  Why did we allow the abundance of Christian writings to take the place of the words of our 66 love letters from God?  Just as Facebook can't take the place of a letter from my mother, sister or my dear friend, neither can the myriad of devotional books, inspirational stories or self-help volumes take the place of my letters from God.

I've connected with so many people from my past and present through Facebook, and of course I love that.  I've also met many authors through the pages of their books -- I love that, too.  But Facebook just can't fill the place in my heart that stands at attention, waiting for more than the pleasantries of a few lines of status. More than that, the books about God's letters don't satisfy the deep longing for God.  Only the reading of His letters can sufficiently occupy the empty space in my soul.

Find some time to write a long newsy letter to someone you love.  More importantly, find some time today to read a letter from God.  Shelter -- and be sheltered!

* * * * *

When I went looking for stationery, to my surprise, I had zero supply.  Cards galore. but not stationery. So I grabbed computer paper and cut it in half lengthwise.  Then I used a border punch on the bottom, added a few marker designs in the corner and viola -- I had stationary.  When I'm ready to send it, I'll decorate the envelope to match.

If you have more time, you can stamp and emboss the decorations, but I have four of the cutest kids coming to spend some time with Pawpaw and Mawmaw so this was what I did.  I knew if I didn't write the letter now it must might not get written.  

For Christmas one year my sister-in-law made me stationery that was beautiful. She stamped and embossed blue flowers adding a gold K to complete it.  If you look in the stores you will see that stationary is hard to find. You may want to design and create your own.  

Here are a few places to purchase stationary:

Crane and Company: This is the pattern I used

Amazon: Is there anything they don't carry?

The Stationary Studio

And how could we leave out Papyrus?

Free Printable Stationary

I love this from Pam at This Side of Heaven Graphics.  She has Bible verse stationery for you to print at no cost. check out her other printables, too.  And while you are there read about (and purchase!) her daughter's books.  This Side of Heaven

Helena from Norway has free printables, too,  One thing I like about hers is that I can print them with or without lines.  Graphic Garden

This post is linked to

Finding Heaven: Soli Deo Gloria

Don't Waste Your Homemaking