 | Memories of life and love preserved through the written word. |
In a world of abbreviated thought, it's all too easy to forget how much a simple, handwritten letter can mean, and the legacy of life and love it can leave behind---from letters home from summer camp, to love letters from war. Today's Living Letter contributor, Dawn, reflects on this truth.
My heart made an instant connection to Signed, Sealed, Delivered in the opening minutes of the Pilot when Oliver commented on the privilege of holding a letter, a real letter in his hand as part of his job and be instrumental in its delivery. I appreciated the respect that Oliver, Shane, Norman, and Rita gave to each of the lost letters and to finding the right recipient. A recent article on the A&D blog reminded us about “the power of a letter to remind us of what lasts”.
While I do enjoy finding old friends and messaging current friends on Facebook or seeing that a twitter friend likes my tweet, I am more moved when I hold a personal letter. In The Road Less Traveled, Oliver bemoans the fact that people look for instant perfection in the photos they take, neglecting to capture a real moment in time with its imperfections. He could have been speaking of the intimacy of a letter also, when real moments are shared just between two people who write from their hearts.
While I do enjoy finding old friends and messaging current friends on Facebook or seeing that a twitter friend likes my tweet, I am more moved when I hold a personal letter. In The Road Less Traveled, Oliver bemoans the fact that people look for instant perfection in the photos they take, neglecting to capture a real moment in time with its imperfections. He could have been speaking of the intimacy of a letter also, when real moments are shared just between two people who write from their hearts.
 | My love for letters goes back a long time to the letters I exchanged with my first pen pal in New Zealand when I was ten. Because I am sentimental I have a stash of letters collected through the years and organized in big white envelopes in a filing cabinet. Every so often I take an afternoon reading some of them and remembering all the dear people in my life who wrote them, most of them gone now. |
I never knew my great-grandfather, a Welsh immigrant, but I do know of his kind heart and noble character because of two letters (over one hundred years old) that I have- one to my grandmother Martha who had moved across the country to help an older sister with her children. She was only fourteen and he missed her dearly and wished he could send her money, but the crops were not good that season. My great uncle described him later in a birthday letter…“You did not give me riches, but the treasure of a loving home…you have been unselfish, kind, loyal to God and your family, you are now nearing the end of a long life… I hope this cheers and comforts you, Much love from your son, Daniel.”
Life on the home front in WWII comes alive to me in the seventy plus V-mail letters my paternal grandmother, an immigrant from Norway, wrote to my father as he served in the South Pacific. “God bless you my dear son…I dreamed last night you came home and surprised me…let’s pray that comes true…we had news you had your appendix out on board ship…please take care…now they are rationing butter here, and your sister needs new shoes: I don’t have enough ration coupons…the rhubarb is coming in…your brother wants to join up…praying for peace, Your waiting Mother."
Life on the home front in WWII comes alive to me in the seventy plus V-mail letters my paternal grandmother, an immigrant from Norway, wrote to my father as he served in the South Pacific. “God bless you my dear son…I dreamed last night you came home and surprised me…let’s pray that comes true…we had news you had your appendix out on board ship…please take care…now they are rationing butter here, and your sister needs new shoes: I don’t have enough ration coupons…the rhubarb is coming in…your brother wants to join up…praying for peace, Your waiting Mother."
 | The Treasure Box episode highlighted the enduring legacy of love letters and the romance of “good words” exchanged between a man and woman in love. When my mother passed away, I had to go through her treasures, including love letters written to my dad, and he to her, almost every day of their courtship during WWII. He called her his “dear darling sweetheart, every moment I am awake I think of you…” They worried if they could find an apartment, if they had enough money to take a honeymoon etc. These revealed a side of my parents I never knew and helped me understand their many years of love in a new way. |
One of my best friends, dying of a brain tumor twenty years ago, took the time to write me a letter in her last weeks, thanking me for my friendship and asking me to pray for her husband and the six children she was leaving. Her generous spirit inspires me still when I read that and remember our days as young single women, meeting our husbands, our weddings the same year, and our dreams for our children. Her faithful and kind personality shines in that last letter and I miss her all over again.
Shane warned in Impossible Dream to “pay attention to the simple little things in front of you or they could be gone.” As a mother, I treasure all the little letters that my boys wrote from summer camp. My youngest wrote from his first time away … “the food is HORRIBLE, I failed my swimming test, it is so hot in the tent, when I see the moon at night I think that you are looking at the same moon as me. Please let me know how the Royals are doing… I kind of wish I was home!” How can my heart not melt at his innocence and sweetness even though he has long grown up and left home.
Shane warned in Impossible Dream to “pay attention to the simple little things in front of you or they could be gone.” As a mother, I treasure all the little letters that my boys wrote from summer camp. My youngest wrote from his first time away … “the food is HORRIBLE, I failed my swimming test, it is so hot in the tent, when I see the moon at night I think that you are looking at the same moon as me. Please let me know how the Royals are doing… I kind of wish I was home!” How can my heart not melt at his innocence and sweetness even though he has long grown up and left home.
 | I love Signed, Sealed, Delivered for many different reasons, but I hope the series will inspire fans to sometimes take pen to paper and write a letter to someone close to their heart. We never outgrow our need for affirmation and when we hold a real letter we feel that over and over. Then we will understand as Norman told Shane, “And see it’s handmade…someone thinks you’re special!” |
Thank you, Dawn, for the heartfelt reflection on the beauty and timelessness of letter writing. I'm certainly inspired by it!
The Living Letters series continues as long as there are stories (or even praise reports) to share, and I'm always looking for submissions. If you would like to contribute something about how Signed, Sealed, Delivered has impacted your life (or even your wardrobe) that you'd be willing to share here on A&D, feel free to email me. Keep the good going and submit yours today!
The Living Letters series continues as long as there are stories (or even praise reports) to share, and I'm always looking for submissions. If you would like to contribute something about how Signed, Sealed, Delivered has impacted your life (or even your wardrobe) that you'd be willing to share here on A&D, feel free to email me. Keep the good going and submit yours today!
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