Dusty Shelves
In our family office there is a corner shelf where my things can be found. On it there is:
1. Scrapbooking stuff
2. Some books
3. A shoebox full of letters
I haven’t touched the scrapbooking stuff other than adding to it in 4 years. I have grand ideas about making each child a scrapbook to give them on their 18th birthday, but have never found the time.
Books are so dear to me and I have many. These particular books are some that I want to read again before they’re absorbed into the much larger book collection we have, but I fail to find time to read them!
The shoebox full of letters I take out and read quite often. They are letters that my husband and I exchanged while he was deployed to Afghanistan. He was overseas for 10 months, and in training for almost 3 months, meaning that our entire first year of marriage was one of separation. These letters, although they tell the story of two young lovers a few years ago, are still very sentimental to me, and I read them often. I take out the box and open each card sent, read each postcard carefully, and search for my favorite letters, laughing at all the decorations I put on each envelope.
There are memories there.
It is the story of our love.
The Longest Love Letter
We recently relocated from Southeast Missouri to Central Wyoming and are in the process of unpacking [big job]. When it came time to unpack our office, we decided to just stack the boxes into the designated room, and wait to open them until we have proper shelving, a desk, etc. The box of our love letters stayed put, beneath it’s layer of cardboard and tape.
Some things we opened first, however, like clothes, pots and pans, and toys [all for obvious reasons].
Although my little shoebox still hasn’t been unpacked, there is another love letter that I cherish even more, and it was unpacked first thing!
Thinking Outside of the Story Book
When we finally got things sorted enough to get back to a bedtime routine, the kids were asking for bedtime stories. Where were their storybooks? In boxes.
With little time to locate the box that stored their favorites I reached for my own Bible and we all piled on the bed.
That night we started from the front. It was the first time I read to my kids from the Bible instead of a story book. I had never done it before for fear of losing their attention and struggling to explain the big words to them.
What a joy it was to realize that my kids could enjoy God’s Word as is!
Though we are moving slow, we are getting through the creation story, and although my kids are young, I see the blessing that God’s Word brings in just this short time.
Love Letters
I may have a box of love letters from my husband, but my kids are young and [hopefully] won’t bring home ‘Ms. Right’ for years. For now I want them to cherish God’s love story, the longest love story, and the best written. If they grow up in the Word, they will know all about love and won’t mistake it down the road.
Image courtesy of jannoon028 /FreeDigitalPhotos.net
