Letters of Love

It was a hot July and I was enjoying the air conditioning of a bowling alley in Salamanca, Spain when I first read the letter that would change my life.  Before leaving for a summer abroad in Spain and then Ghana, I had met Jeff at a bible study in late April of 1999.  Our first meeting intrigued me for sure, but it was the letter that sealed the deal.  The letter wasn’t even a mushy-gushy love letter, it was more of a treatise on his life, a purpose statement for the future, and a commendation of me and my walk with the Lord (one I did not deserve).  Twelve years, three kids, and two cross-country moves later, I can read this letter and be reminded of the many reasons I fell in love with my husband.

Letters are a powerful way of communicating ideas, encouraging growth, and conveying feelings.  Most of the New Testament is a collection of letters.  Two of my favorites are Paul’s letters to his “true child in the faith,” Timothy.  Also, the book of Acts is a masterfully written, chronological summary of the early church; all contained in a letter written to Theophilus from the apostle Luke.  

A few years ago a friend and mentor gave us a series of sermons concerning the writing of love letters.  The gentleman that preached the sermons talked of the transformative power the writing of love letters had on his congregation.  The elders, deacons and other men of the church had gathered together a few months before Valentine’s Day and decided to honor their wives with a special dinner and the reading of a love letter.  The preacher described couple after couple that was remarkably changed for the better due to this exercise.  

The letters that the preacher encouraged the men to write were not your typical love letters.  The men used a well-known formula for prayer that uses the acronym ACTS.  The letter began with ADORATION, detailing the reasons why they had married their wives and what they loved about them.  Next, they CONFESSED the areas where they needed to grow and committed to making their relationships better.  Then, the letter went on to list all of the things that they were THANKFUL for in their marriage, and finally ended with SUPPLICATION for help to be the type of men God was calling them to be.  

The experiment grew into an annual ministry leading to marriages being restored and strengthened, souls added to the kingdom and a deeper love for one another.  The preacher went on to charge the congregation with writing letters to not only spouses, but children and even to those that the relationship was strained or broken.  

After listening to these sermons I began writing letters of my own.  The first was to my father, who I had a tense relationship with for many years.  It took me many months to write his letter.  I sent it to him one Christmas.  We never discussed the letter, but through the writing of the letter I was finally able to let go of past hurts and a resentful attitude.  I was able to see my dad in an entirely new light.  The exercise of adoration and thankfulness helped me practice chords of harmony and peace when all I had been playing was off-key “bangings” for years.  The result was a complete metamorphosis of my thoughts and feelings toward my dad, which not only strengthened my relationship with him, but also my marriage.   God used this exercise to show me that letters are not written for the reader only.

Paul reminds us that the influence of a letter is not in the written word, but in the heart of the person that is behind the words.  2 Corinthians 3:3 says, "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 

Our lives are living epistles to be read with every breath we take, word we speak and step we walk.  I want us to be encouraged to pick up a pen, grab a keyboard, or text a thoughtful message of love to that person you know may need it.  Yes, it takes time and it may not be easy, but you already know that is the very reason for doing it.  Write someone!

Dana Jaworski
Anchor Point, AK