The Gift of a Heartfelt Letter

Do you remember how you felt the last time you received a beautifully written letter from a loved one, dear friend, or even a person with whom you had a falling out? In a world of social networking, microblogging, and 140-character tweets, letter writing is a fast-fading art. It may get worse.

Under Common Core academic standards, cursive instruction is de-emphasized in favor of computer and keyboarding skills. Most states no longer require public schools to teach cursive writing and reading. Ask a 12 year old what a fountain pen is and you will get a blank stare. Writing? That is sooooo last century!

Even the FBI is getting into the act, publishing an 83 page guide to Twitter slang and other acronyms including EOTWAWKI (end of the world as we know it), so agents can decipher modern communications. LOL! Will Twitter, Facebook, et al, end written communication as we know it?

Laura Berman, PhD, reports that old love rituals are falling by the wayside. A new survey indicates that only 6% of women and 4% of men still write love letters. Social networking modes are de rigueur; 97% of women and 89% of men say “I love you” through text, while 43% of women and 39% of men use Twitter to express feelings. (www.everydayhealth.com)

Atlanta’s Jody Noland, author of Leave Nothing Unsaid: Words that Matter Forever, thinks that in the rush to texts and tweets much has been lost. It has. As a writer, I know how much I appreciate a handwritten and hand-signed letter from someone I care about and respect.

Jody tells of a dear friend who at age 48 was diagnosed with a brain tumor while on an overseas trip. He was transported back to the U.S. for emergency surgery. On the night before the delicate operation, not knowing if he would survive, he asked his wife for a pen and paper and he wrote letters to each of his children. He did live for another nine months. The letters have been a source of comfort and inspiration for the children over the 17 years since their dad’s death.

His youngest daughter says about her letter, “The note he wrote for me that night at the hospital is something I can go back to and remember not only how much he loved me, but also the short version of what he wanted me to know and become as I grew up and walked through life. Now, that note is a glimpse of the treasure of our relationship for the people in my life who never knew Daddy, like my husband Jake and our children.”

In 2009 Jody’s husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer. At the onset of the disease, she encouraged him to write letters to his children. “Sadly,” she says, “his illness was ferocious and he died three short months later, never having begun the letters.” Later, a daughter asked if her dad had written her a letter. It “was heartbreaking to tell her ‘no.’”

Don’t wait until you are dying to write letters. A few years ago when I was experiencing a Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) weekend, my daughter, a busy mom with two children, grandchildren I adore, wrote a letter to me. It was beautiful, affirming, and brought tears of joy to my eyes. Being a dad is a blessing and gift from God and to have a son or daughter tell you in their own words, “Dad, you did good and I love you”... WOW!

You can write letters to honor life achievements—graduation from high school or college, return from military service, marriage, welcoming new people into the family, birth of a child, milestone life events or anniversaries, or a plain “I love you” or “I care for you” letter. Perhaps you need to close a circle, heal a hurt, right a wrong, mend a torn relationship. If you died today, but God gave you one hour to come back and visit with those you love, what would you tell them?

Leave Nothing Unsaid is a useful guide to writing a letter or note, helping you to compose “words that matter forever.” You may order the workbook and contact Jody Noland through www.LeaveNothingUnsaid.com She conducts small group workshops and speaks at corporate and other events.

Lewis Walker is President of Walker Capital Management, LLC. Certain advisory services offered through The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Lewis Walker is a registered representative of SFA which is otherwise unaffiliated with Walker Capital Management, LLC. lewisw@theinvestmentcoach.com