Old-Fashioned Charm

By Stacy LaMorte

When was the last time you received a handwritten letter in the mail? Not just a greeting card that was signed by the sender, but a real, bona fide note or letter the way we used to write them to a pen pal or someone we love?

It sounds so old-fashioned, but I encourage you to send one soon.

When someone with whom you haven’t spoken in a while comes to your mind, that is the Holy Spirit prompting you to let that person know that you are thinking of them. You could send an email or a text, which is still amazingly effective, but not quite the same as receiving “snail mail.”

It doesn’t have to be a long letter – five or six lines will do. It is the act of receiving something in the mail that is not a solicitation or a bill that may create a “Holy Moment,” as Matthew Kelly calls them.

Your receiver may just be excited to do the same thing for someone else, starting a chain reaction.

Some time ago, I challenged myself to write one hand-written letter per week and kept it up for about three months. You wouldn’t believe how many of the receivers sent me one back or at least a message saying how much my note brightened their day!

Then, Christmas came along. I mailed out 75 Christmas cards, and I was tapped out.

I think I will pick that up again to let those I love know how I am feeling about them and, maybe, in return, start a chain reaction of old-fashioned charm, warmth and love.

Who is the Holy Spirit prompting you to contact?