October 2020 — pg. 31
We’re told in Hebrews 10:24–25 to “consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” While
“meeting together” may not be possible right now, cards
allow us to fulfill the passage’s instruction to be “encouraging
one another.” Greeting cards can be a gentle tonic, giving
us a taste of the community we long for. Both sender and
receiver take in a drop of enrichment as “whoever refreshes
others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).
Here’s how to get this out of the dream and into the stream
of doing. You can buy a card, or a box of cards, or you can
handcraft a card.
Buying a card can be a sport. I had a beautiful, white-haired
friend, Anna, who was a master at finding exactly
the right card. I miss her dearly since she passed away
recently. I miss her cards too (and the many delightful days
of anticipating them before birthdays and Christmas). Anna
was a one-card shopper on a glorious treasure hunt. She told
me once, with a gleeful smile, how she reveled in the search,
until the moment when she said as she snapped her fingers,
“There! Perfect!”
You can plan ahead and search for many cards on the
same trip or, especially in pandemic times, online. Or you
can buy a couple of boxes of cards. I keep on hand a box of
blank cards and one of mixed occasion cards. Though pre-messaged
cards are not always as personal as I would like,
I can add a handwritten personal note, and I don’t need to
run out and buy a card if the time is short as in the case of an
almost-forgotten birthday or a sudden death.
Next comes the handcrafted card. I have a friend who
may take up to six hours to create one fantastic card worth
framing. My cards are quite simple. They take a bit of pleasant
musing but not a lot of time. I keep on hand a supply of old
holiday and birthday cards, photos, rubber stamps, ink pads,
calendar pictures and sayings, scriptures and other words of
wisdom. I also have a supply of postage stamps, tape, glue,
ribbons, scissors, stickers — and the confidence that very
simple is very good because I am sending love. I’ve found
that creating a card can be relaxing and restorative like a
mini-retreat on a hectic day.
So now you’re ready to begin. Your card is staring at you
from your writing space. You sit down and pick up your
pen. What do you write first? Trust me in this. The first thing
you write is the recipient’s name and address on the envelope,
and your return address in the top left-hand corner. Then,
immediately place the postage stamp in the top right corner.
Doing those three little things first (no matter how tedious
it might be to find your grandmother’s new assisted living
address) will be the thing that ensures your card actually
gets mailed. Saving these steps for “later” may mean that
“later” never comes — until it becomes ill-timed to send it at
all. This disappointment could stop you from trying again,
while a mailed card brings the satisfaction that you followed
through and expressed your care. It feels good!
Now for your written loving thoughts.
If your card came with a message printed inside, that
may be all that’s needed. Add the personal note if necessary.
Always meet the person you are writing to, kindly but
squarely, where the relationship really is. This will take
common sense. Enjoy thinking it through for clarity, then
write accordingly.
If you are thanking a first date for a lovely outdoor dinner
(which easily takes a reconnaissance mission to find in these
times), express gratitude without gushing or imagining that
you are engaged. (It could be your first and only date if you
don’t get this right.)
Realize the importance of remaining focused on why you
are writing. Thank you? Encouragement? Birthday? Just a
hello? Stick to that, and the appropriate brevity, which is the
nature of a card, will follow. (It is not good to remind your
sister in her birthday card that she needs to return the jacket
she borrowed.)
Add the date to the top right-hand corner. At the bottom,
write your closing regards, a comma and your name. “Love,”
“Warm regards,” “Yours truly,” and so on are best chosen by
thoughtfully considering the type of connection you have
with the person. “Sincerely,” has stood the test of time. When
in doubt, use it.
Jesus commanded us to “love each other” (John 15:12).
Sending a card may seem like a small thing to do to express
our love. It is! But its impact could appear as a handheld
miracle to an isolated loved one. Plus, the recipient can read
it again and again, and treasure it as a reminder of your care.
I now lean toward a special card as a gift for someone in
the hospital, assisted living, or rehab. Aside from being an
ongoing encouragement when visits are now restricted, a
card is easier to carry home than many other gifts. And who
wants to steal a card?
Now that you’ve thought through the type of card, the
relationship, the purpose for writing, and keeping it to the
point, you are on your way to blessing the receiver, and
yourself, by unmasking social distancing with the loving
touch of a card. “Let us therefore make every effort to do
what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans
14:19).
So why not go for it? Write away.+
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