Sunday, January 2, 2011

Thoughts for Living into the New Year


The following sequence of notes or posts is entered as they come to mind - and in no particular order - to lodge in memory some thoughts or practices I want to emphasize in the coming year.

The first note of the new year is: Keep in Touch.

This old French post card with its charming handwriting and lovely old stamps visually reminds me of the importance of correspondence. In 2011, few of us take the time actually to write letters. Texts are good for a quick answer but have no staying power. You cannot linger over a box of old texts, unwrapping each one carefully, to read your mother's letters or remember your grandfather's handwriting, or re-read old letters from Camp. Yes, I have saved them. They may be clutter to someone, but they are my clutter.

So in the year to come, I resolve to become reacquainted with the practice of writing letters more often. Handwritten words show intentionality and communicate a gift of time to the recipient. Little children spell love T...I...M...E. And our time is a precious thing indeed. So is expressing appreciation.

I want to be more loving and to cultivate gratitude. I want to learn to love as God loves - a steep climb from where I am today, but a worthwhile goal on this journey. I find inspiration for this bold desire in many places, but here is another, from I John 3:18:

Dear children, let us not love merely in words or talk, but in deeds and truth.

So, keep in touch. Write it down. Take the time to express appreciation. And be a channel of blessing in doing so.

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