the lost art of letter writing

letterA handwritten note just arrived in the mail, complete with wax seal affixed to the back.

I stood at the mailbox for a moment, giddy with anticipation, and rubbed my thumb across the seal — a little afraid I’d lop off a chunk of wax.

Nobody ever sends me anything like this. Truth be told, I don’t bother to send anyone letters, either. It’s a sign of the times. An email would have been fine. A text message even better. In fact, the small kindness that elicited this note didn’t require anything at all.

Which is why this is so special.

The kindness of others often moves me — people who offer to pray for me, and I know they follow-through. People who support me. People who are inconvenienced but do something for me out of love. How often do I mumble a thank you and move on? We both move on, really. I mean, this isn’t about holding up the doer as some kind of epic hero — I’m not suggesting that our actions require anything more than a simple thank you. What I’m getting at is a different point: I could be a little more intentional in my appreciation for what others do.

And, I really should pick up one of those nifty wax seal kits.

8 Replies to “the lost art of letter writing”

  1. Beautiful! I’m pretty sure I still have my wax and and initial stamp from back in the 70’s…somewhere. Perhaps I’ll find it on this next move! I often text my thanks but when I have time I love to make my thank you cards.

  2. Thank you for the reminder that I need to write a few thank you notes and letter of encouragement to my mom – it’s been too long since I wrote something on paper and mailed it. Love getting mail, but you gotta write letters, too. Have a great week!

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