Love Letters in the S&

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known & read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

The day was blustery & cold, tugging at my car as I drove the freeway. So why did these words tumble out of my mouth? “On a day like today, we pass the time away writing love letters in the s&.”

It led me to think of the “love letters” that God can deliver at any time – no matter the season. They come from the soft care in the heart of His Spirit but are cemented in His tenacity to respond to my needs.

There are times hardened “letters” must be washed out to sea, or they will crowd out the depth of God’s love within me. I recall a summertime decades ago when I was at a beach. The experience of a deep betrayal that had brought me pain & anger would not subside. I wrote all of it out as a letter & then shouted the words into the vastness of God’s ocean. Then, to seal the expulsion, I ripped the paper to shreds & nearly pulverized it into the s&s at the ocean’s edge. The cool waters washed over my feet. God’s love took the words, the paper bits & my emotions out to sea. I stood victorious in His healing peace & restoration.

God’s vow to me is to always be true. My heart of flesh will experience emotions including hurts in relationships, or challenges within my body that are hard to bear. My love for Him trusts that I can freely express all feelings. In this experience I convey, God allowed words to be washed away to prevent my heart from remaining hardened. We exchanged “love letters in the s&”.

Prayer: Lord, I can always be real with You. Thank You for receiving the hard words I need to express from my heart & in response receive Your peace. I reply with words of thanks & praise to You. Amen.

About the Author:
Lynn Severance is a retired elementary classroom teacher. She lives in Lynnwood, Washington. She writes to encourage others as God has encouraged her during 27 years of living with daily physical challenges.