Snail Mail

I had an unusual occurrence today. I received a piece of personal mail via the US postal service. It was great!!! As handy as email is there is nothing like real mail. But that's not the real point of today's post.

What I received in the mail was a thank you note from a 15 year old girl from Maine. She was one of the campers where Tim and I spent a week teaching. This girl had approached me after one of my lessons and asked to talk privately. After spending time counseling her I prayed for her and she went on her way to join in with the rest of the campers for lunch and afternoon activities.

The week ended, she left, I came home. One never knows what fruit the Lord will bring from sowing into lives. The often repeated response to that statement is: "We'll know in heaven." That is enough for me. But yet, sometimes the Lord allows us to hear the news of a harvest, which allows us to celebrate here below along with the saints above.

This young girl didn't have to write to me. I had assumed the impact of that moment had passed with the lunch call. But seven weeks later the Lord brought about a powerful moment in her life which she believes was an answer to my prayer, and she wanted me to know. How very kind of her. How very thoughtful for a fifteen year old.

This makes me wonder about how many times I've neglected to say thank you to people for big and little kindnesses they have extended to me. Surely I said thank you in the moment, but there is no doubt that a thank you note written seven days or seven weeks, or seven months after the fact, communicates sincere appreciation of a kindness that has not been forgotten. How many times have I missed an opportunity to really bless someone with a note like that.

An email thank you, or a facebook "thinking of you" is good. But who doesn't enjoy and appreciate getting that paper note in the mailbox tucked in between the bills and junk mail. I have a drawer with note cards, birthday cards, sympathy cards. I have a container of pens and a little drawer with postage stamps. I think it is time for me to make better use of these simple tools for the encouragement and building up of another.

Is there anyone in your life to whom you could send a note of thanks through snail mail?