Do you appreciate when someone writes you? I feel special when I receive a letter because someone took the time to connect with me. I love getting letters. In fact, I save them. 

Saving letters must run in my family. My grandfather, a lieutenant commander in the Navy, was called to duty during World War II, leaving behind a wife and three young boys. He and my grandmother exchanged many letters to keep the family connected. 

When my grandparents passed away, Dad inherited boxes of letters, not only written from Poppa Lee and Gran Jones, but the letters Dad wrote to them. The year Dad downsized his living space, he entrusted these letters to me. I’ve got their letters from 1943 through the 1970s. Can you imagine the family history at my fingertips? Here was my opportunity to learn about the lives of my grandparents, whom I hardly knew. And learning about Dad was a bonus.                                                       

My intentions were good. I’ve had these letters – 3,000 by conservative estimate – for seven years. I started a project of scanning them but stopped after 40 when I discovered my scanner liked having brittle paper for lunch. Then I entertained a goal of reading a letter a day, which was a lovely idea, but it didn’t happen. I talked myself out of it because I wanted to read them in chronological order, which would have meant going through all 3,000 of them. The letters remain unread. 

This undertaking made me think about God and how He intentionally preserved His letters to us. I wonder if we appreciate that God has composed the greatest love letter ever written to mankind. God preserved His letters in the Bible because He wanted to show us how much He loves us. I have learned my legacy as part of God’s family by reading the Bible daily. I am certain that if I were as intentional about reading the letters of my family, I would be enriched with that legacy as well. 

God has a series of letters waiting for us in the Bible. We’ve got mail, and it’s time to read it!

Blessings,                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Lee Ann

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