When The Vulnerable and Beautiful Needs To Be Named

Getting a handwritten letter in the mailbox is an unusual occurrence these days. In the midst of busy schedules and trying to cram as many things as possible in a shorter amount of time, we would rather jot off a text or send an email than pull out a pen and paper.

Letter writing is a dwindling way to communicate--not quite as lost as sending smoke signals, but a handwritten letter is still on the way to becoming a nostalgic memory.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled out a thick envelope with a handwritten address from my mail box last week, practically buried in my stack of advertising circulars and credit card applications.

The handwritten letter was from an older friend of ours whose wife died of cancer about five years ago. He had ordered a copy of Under a Desert Sky and decided to keep a running commentary and written journal about his thoughts of the book while he was reading it.

About halfway through the book, he sealed his thoughts in an envelope and mailed it to me.

Quotes. Comments. Memories. Notes.

EIGHT. PAGES.

A goldmine of a letter.

He penned at the beginning of his missive, "I'm filled with both anticipation and an unexpected fear of seeing my friend's insides."

Writing is my way of expressing things from the inside out.

We each have something that communicates who we really are, a gifting and a purpose of God that we were created to share with the world.

It sometimes hard to be vulnerable with that purpose--to let others view our insides.

Sometimes we all need the gifting and purpose of God that He has uniquely placed in each of us to be called out by others. To be named. To be given a voice and acknowledged.

A friend of mine has a wall hanging in her kitchen: A friend is someone who sings your song when you have forgotten the words.

A handwritten letter in the mail sang to me last week and although his purpose was to call out the vulnerable and beautiful in my writing, he also exposed the vulnerable and beautiful in his own soul.

Which makes me want to pause for a moment to ask you a question.

Who can you encourage this week? Is there someone in your life who has forgotten the words to their song, or who might need reminding of the tune? Even those who seem to have it all together may need you to hum along next to their ear, until they join in the melody.

Maybe you can send out a handwritten letter (or a text or an email) and name the gifting you see inside.

(It doesn't need to be eight pages.)

Call out the vulnerable and beautiful.

A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word! Proverbs 15:23 NASB