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by Naomi Musch
Superman, so they say, was faster than a speeding bullet. He could leave Lois Lane teetering on top of a sky scraper's ledge, zing into outer space to stop an asteroid from slamming into the earth, zip around the wee planet a few times, and be back to stop poor Lois from toppling to her death in the space of a few moments. Now we can respond to the world around us nearly as quick.
We live in a marvelous age -- the communication age. With the advent of technological dream highways like those on the internet, we can chat to friends in Denmark, Australia, and Texas, all at once. Superman couldn't do that. And people thought telephones were something...
But with all this ease of communication I'm afraid that old fashioned correspondence is becoming something of a lost art. Frequently, kids can't see the necessity of learning to put their thoughts into form in a letter when it is so easy to jot a few disjointed sentences onto a computer screen, usually without introduction or even a capital letter throughout. We need to change that trend.
We should all learn to be more frequent and effective letter writers. It may be nice to get an e-mail or phone call from time to time, but it's ever more delightful to pull a fat envelope from the mailbox hand-addressed in one's own name, complete with stickers or little pictures drawn on the outside, and even the stains of travel or the small spill that took place right before it was mailed. Often, thoughts we find difficult to word on the telephone, or don't take the time to think out on the computer, we have time to weave in a letter. There is a difference, you see, in the brief, chatty fashion in which we communicate in this fast-paced digital highway world, and the real, heart-felt communication that comes with true correspondence.
Letter-writing is a habit of course. Many can probably say that they haven't written a letter in a long time, or may say that they don't have the time. But like anything, it's something you take the time for. Years ago, people would take a certain portion of their morning, or perhaps their week, to devote to correspondence. We can do the same. In fact, if you are not easily lulled into new habits, you might even schedule a morning on your calendar once a month that you will devote to writing a few letters, just as you would schedule time for piano lessons or a visit to the dentist.
By writing letters to friends and family more frequently, you also reduce the size of the task the next time. If you have to tell someone the events of the last year because it's been that long since you've spoken, then next month you will have much less to report.
This brings us to the issue of letter content. Unlike a the short spurts we send in e-mails, a letter should contain well defined thoughts. It is, you see, a wonderful opportunity to sharpen our ability to convey our thoughts clearly. We might report the events of our lives, as I stated earlier, but we don't want our letters to sound like a dry list of events, either. Everyone enjoys a letter that contains little anecdotes and humorous quips about someone's life. They also enjoy knowing about the feelings you had during each important moment. In short, be yourself in a letter. Let the real you shine though. You may not have the actual immediacy in a letter that you do in a phone call, but you can write it as though you do.
Dear Wendy,
I've been thinking a lot about you
lately and all the crazy things we used to laugh
about. I decided that I'd sit down right now with
a cup of tea and pretend I'm sharing it with you as
I write this letter...
Once you've decided to begin letter writing more regularly, include your children in it. As you schedule time to correspond, set aside that block of time for your children to do the same. They can write to friends, grandparents, missionaries, pen pals, or Sunday school teachers. Kids, (like their parents), might say, "It's too hard. It takes too long. There's nothing to write about," but a child who grows up as a letter writer is more apt to continue once they've reached adulthood. Besides telling about what they've been doing lately, you might encourage them to include drawings, thank you's for gifts sent, or prayer requests. Like their parents, there's probably much more going on in their world than they initially think, and they may need a few moments to jar their memories.
I've been trying to get back into this art form myself. I want my kids to cover their distant relatives' refrigerators with reminders that they care about them, and for those people to know who we are too. I want to take every opportunity that I have as a stay-at-home mom to reach into lives that I might otherwise be unable to reach. I can do that best by prayer and frequent correspondence. You can too.
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