I don’t recognize the writing. I don’t recognize the return address. I rip open the envelope that came in the snail mail to find a hug on paper. There wasn’t a long note inside. Just a small quote and it was signed “thinking of you this week.”
This Week was loaded with stress and anxiety over a situation outside of my control that would affect my family.
This Week was full of responsibilities and a busy schedule.
This Week was packed with filling others’ needs.
This Week was almost too much to carry on my own, so I had asked my Bible Study ladies to pray for me.
It was a simple thing. Really. A visible reminder on my counter that I am not alone this week. She is not a close friend, but she filled my heart with a simple act of kindness and thoughtfulness. It probably took her less than five minutes to write, address and post. Five minutes that reached out and impacted my perspective for This Week.
In our digital world, it is easy to send a text or make a comment on social media and feel as though we have showed someone how much we care. A card in the mail the old-fashioned way showed me otherwise. In a pile of ads and junk mail with a few bills thrown in, Hope and Love arrived in a square envelope. The size and shape of the envelope alone speaks to me and says, “This is something special, something unexpected.” It is, in fact, a hug on paper.
It was challenge to me: send a card…for a birthday, in sympathy, to encourage…or just because. Because 5 minutes for me can be something more for someone else.
Feeling loved,
Heather Smith
