Dear Aunt LouAnne,
Every year, you send me a birthday card with a letter in it. You have been doing this, as far as I know, since the day I was born.
In my sixty years of life on this planet, I cannot remember a single year when you failed to send me that card with a letter in it.
Your letters often tell how your children are doing, who came to visit you recently, what’s going on in your church or lady’s club, or what the weather has been like recently.
And every letter you’ve ever sent me always ends with, “Write or stop by any time.”
Aunt LouAnne, I know every one of those letters you’ve sent me has been written in love.
So, thank you, Aunt LouAnne! Thank you!
Even though every time I read one of your letters I think to myself, “I should write her back.” I never get around to doing it.
Still, even though you’ve sent me a letter every year for half of a century or more and never gotten a reply, you faithfully keep sending them out. You are diligent, patient, and relentless in your love for me even though I don’t deserve it.
Well, Aunt LouAnne, I am finally writing you back to say that your undying, unconditional love for me is exactly the kind of love Jesus calls us to have for one another. I am sorry it has taken me so long, but I love you too.
As long as I am making confession here, I should tell you that I write a blog for Kinship Christian Radio. I do this every Monday night. Yes, I sit down and faithfully write something every week and have been doing so for a number of years, and still I could not find the time to write to you. Yes, I know I majored in writing in college and still I could not find time to write to you.
In fact, this letter I am writing to you now is one I intend to use as a blog post for Kinship Christian Radio, so yes, I am actually doing the “two birds with one stone” thing.
You see, this is June Letter Month at Kinship Christian Radio. Listeners to the radio station are encouraged to write in and tell the staff anything they want.
For example, they might write: “Dear Kinship Christian Radio, All is well here. Got the garden planted a week late, but it’s growing well and the weeds haven’t gotten the best of me yet! (Ha, Ha!) We visited Tracy’s parents last weekend. They are fine. The weather has been good, with just enough rain for the garden, but it seems we have a lot of gnats lately. We’ve been blessed with good health and our church just finished up the Wednesday night Kid’s Church so the kids can have the summer off. We listen to Kinship Christian Radio every day and really appreciate the Christian music, preaching, and sharing from the announcers. Thanks! Keep up the good work! Love in Christ, Dan Jones <><” <–(I like to put that little fish at the end. You know how I am about fish.)
The reason I am writing you this letter and the blog at the same time, Aunt LouAnne, is because I think a lot of people who listen to Kinship Christian radio are in the same boat as I am with you: They want to write and sincerely intend to write, but they just keep putting it off and it never gets done. The next thing you know, fifty years have gone by and that’s a LOT of regret for what remains undone. I figured I would, once and for all, just do it!
I should tell you that people who write in to the radio station and include a donation are able to pick a gift for doing so. They can choose one the following CD’s:
So, God Bless you, Aunt LouAnne and THANK YOU for all those letters!
Write or stop by any time!
Love, Dan
<><
P.S. Please do NOT send me a gift for writing to you! The $5 you send in the birthday card every year is more than enough!
Today’s Praise
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon 1:3 (NIV)
(Paul starts every one of his letters with “grace and peace to you.”)
(Photo by author.)