love letters

Under my bed, in a hand-painted box, there are treasures to find.
~ticket stubs
~photos
~enclosure cards from flowers
~little trinkets that wouldn't make sense to you, but mean everything to me
~and, most importantly, a big stack of cards and letters.

The summer after Gavin and I became a couple (almost a year later) I spent 7 weeks away at camp.

I'm not ashamed to tell you we were already very much in love by this time!

He visited usually twice a week, but just as much as the visits, I loved to receive his letters. The mail was distributed at lunchtime every day, and three or four days a week, I would hear my name called. As the campers all "oooh-ed" I tried to appear calm and casual as I collected another card from my one and only!

Most of the time the sentiments were not overly sentimental - just a run-down of the day- but I cherished every word. I read the letter over as many times as I could before rest period was over. Then I would tuck it away to read again before bed.

Fifteen years later, those warm feelings returned like a flood when I received a much anticipated email from my beloved. This time, he's away and it's only for four and a half days, but we've sure missed having him around! (And it's really not because the grass needs to be cut!)

Warm fuzzy feelings at this stage of our life and marriage are so welcomed. It certainly isn't the norm (unfortunately). The day-to-day grind of getting things done and caring for a family sometimes causes me to forget all the reasons I fell in love with this man, who I now refer to more often as Daddy.

It's too bad that this same situation can occur in my spiritual life.

I get busy.

I get overwhelmed.

I start to do things my own way.

I forget about the love He has shown me, and the passion I once felt....or, I can't remember any of the verses that once spoke power and vision into my life.

I don't have to dig out a dusty, painted, wooden box to find the Love Letter - I need only to open the Word. Many of my favorite passages are underlined in pink!

Here's the one on my heart tonight:

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

I love to be loved!