Do you still write letters?
It seems as though the art of letter writing is dying out.
For the past 2000 or more years the information we read about today was passed down in the form of letters.
Letters giving information regarding the towns, governments, wars, expeditions, relocations, countries, tragedies, and many more every day events.- Letters from family members, carried far across the oceans to newly discovered shores.
- Letters from soldiers in the Roman army, or writing home from France in WW2.
- Letters from Scott, when he was on the Antarctic expedition, or from Christopher Columbus about his discovery of the new world.
The libraries and museums of the world are filled with precious letters from an era which is passing away far too quickly.
We now have new technology! We have computers, typewriters, iPad’s, emails and Cell phones, which give us access to instant messaging, but with it we have lost the ability to write personal, chatty letters to loved ones, or write reports in our own handwriting that can be kept for posterity.
I love receiving letters, or birthday cards, or thank you cards for gifts given. But this doesn’t happen any more. I haven’t received a hand written letter for a few years. I don’t even get a thank you note, let alone a letter, for a wedding gift carefully chosen and given with a beautiful card.
Children aren’t taught to write thank you notes to parents, grandparents, aunts or friends.
Do lovers write to one another now? Or does a text or SMS suffice?
A friend recently expressed the wish for a parent to have written a personal note to them before they died. It won’t happen now!
If this has struck a chord, make a promise to yourself to do some of the following:
Write a letter of appreciation to each of your loved ones, family and friends, and put them away to be brought out after you have passed on.- Write thank you cards every time you get a present for your birthday, or other anniversary, and send it off within a week of the event.
- Write letters to newspapers, on topics that interest you.
- Write your family history down, so that relations have something to put into your ancestral calendar.
- Write down the poems you love, the books you have read, and the highlights of your life.
All of this personal information will be loved by your family members in years to come, and the time you spend doing this will be greatly appreciated.
Our writing down of the experiences of our lives brings satisfaction to ourselves, and leaves a legacy for others to read and enjoy.
God tells us to write for Him. Let us do so for His pleasure and our own.
The Lord gave me this answer: write down clearly on clay tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance. – Habakkuk 2:2
Ann is a retired widow and writes on a regular basis. She is published in articles, blogs and books. She has written six prayer and devotional books and has also been writing a weekly Prayer Guide for 30+ years. Ann has two children and five grandchildren and she enjoys gardening, especially propagating and growing Clivia Miniata.
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