Dear Friends,
It arrived a few weeks ago. It was nestled inside an orange
envelope that the postman had left in our mailbox, I ripped open the colorful
envelope and inside was a Happy Thanksgiving card. It was not the kind of card
you would throw away. On the outside of the card there were a few brown
trees and below the trees were a pile of many-colored leaves that had
been glued on at the bottom of the trees. Above it all were the words
Happy Thanksgiving. Inside the card was a glued orange rectangle that looked
like it had been stitched on the card which contained her Thanksgiving
greeting.
This card was a real keepsake, too beautiful to ever throw away,
so there it sits a top my desk where it greets me every morning, a daily
reminder of a special friend "who cared enough to send her very
best."
The card I described is just one of the many beautifully
handcrafted cards I have received from Cathy DiBlasi, a member of our
church. Hobbled by a series of health issues and limited in the things she
is able to do; she uses her time and her art crafting skills to create unique
expressions of card sending love. And the best part of it all is upon opening
the card you discover a handwritten note expressing her love for you. Personally,
created cards with handwritten notes have mostly gone out of style in a
Hallmark world, but not for Cathy DiBlasi.
All of this got me to thinking about the ways we
express our love to others. Not much tops a beautifully hand
fashioned card containing a handwritten note inside. Over the years I
have been the beneficiary of a number of special cards and handwritten notes,
many of which are still stacked inside my traveling file cabinet I call my
bible, and Cathy’s card will eventually be filed there under the
category, "love."
Last night at our Spiritual Leadership Class, we were studying a
chapter from Oswald Chambers book, Spiritual Leadership titled “More
Essential Qualities of Leadership,” and to my surprise, “The Art of Letter
Writing was included as one of leadership's essential qualities.
Letter writing was something that the Apostle Paul did on a
regular basis. Today we possess 12, maybe 13 of his letters depending on one's
view on the authorship of the book of Hebrews. Oswald Sanders says Paul’s
letters “were filled with encouragement, were gracious in compliment and rich
in sympathy. Those who received them were always enriched (Philippians
1:27-30).”
Letters cannot smile, but they can speak. They can shout
love, breathe encouragement, and convey care. Interestingly enough,
letter writing formed a big part in the follow up program of the great
evangelist George Whitefield. “For it was said of him that after preaching to
large crowds, he would work late into the night writing letters of
encouragement to new converts.” Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Chambers p.
89.
Is there someone you know who would be bolstered by
some expression of your love or encouragement? Oh, you don’t have to be a
Cathy DiBlasi and design some fancy and elaborate card or possess pen ultimate
handwriting skills. No, just a piece of notepaper and a few lines of your love
scribbled in your unique handwriting will do just fine. In the words of Nike's
trademark logo, "Just do it."
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
2 Peter 1:2
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