Letters from the Mailbox

I got one the other day!

It is such a rare occassion with e-mail and texting.

I got a real letter!

Somehow, because snail mail takes such extra effort instead of texting or e-mailing or facebooking (now a verb), receiving a letter now days is a rare treat.

It reminds me of a true story my sister told me after one of her vacations to the East Coast. She had found a lovely home on a long stretch of beach, and as a result, enjoyed walking along the ocean shore daily.

One day she walked farther than usual and was surprised to see a mailbox on the beach.

No home nearby.

A seemingly deserted mailbox.

With the flag up.

Unable to resist her curiosity, she opened the mailbox and found a notebook.

In the notebook was an invitation to write her own story or thoughts as so many others had done who found the mailbox before her.

Sitting on the beach, she enjoyed reading the life stories. Some were of love, honeymoons, fresh starts, and others were of loss. All were captured moments of life.

I believe she added her own thoughts to the book that day, and as a result, her own story became part of a much larger one.

Isn't that the way it is with us?

While we each have a unique story, we are also at different points of a much bigger story in life. Some, like my nephew in his twenties, are preparing for marriage and a new life in a new location. Others, like one of my friends, prepares to stay good-bye to her father after years of seeing him suffer.

We are at different points on God's plot line.

The beauty of our stories is that we contribute to the bigger story of God's love and grace while retaining what makes us different, special, unique.

If you don't believe me, read the Bible. The letters to you and me in that book confirm how God brought together so many different types of people from amazingly diverse backgrounds to weave their stories into one big resolution, God's Mercy.

Letters From A Mailbox.

Special communications now days.

I hope you enjoy God's letters to you today as you read His Word.

Perhaps you will join me in sharing your story in a letter to someone God brings to your heart today as well.

For His Glory,
Gretchen