For Lent, my daughter and I decided to give encouragement, hope, and thanks instead of giving up something. We both decided to write real cards to people and send them in the mail. We bought note cards, stamps, and started looking up addresses. She has decided to do 50 for the year; I am even more ambitious, trying to do 40 just during Lent. Coming up with 40 people wasn't easy; finding all those addresses has been more difficult. In this day of cell phones, not every one can be looked up in an online phone book. Sometimes I have thought of someone only to not remember their last name or some may have even passed away, like former teachers. Some have moved away and I have not found current addresses.
This has been a good exercise to think about people who have blessed my life. More people invested in me or my family than I had thought about. It made me grateful to realize how many people have impacted me in some way. And some of them would never have guessed it had I not specifically told them.
It also had the added blessing of making me think of how I am living my life. Am I being intentional about blessing others? What am I doing to help others? How am I sharing my life with people? It has been a good examination of my busy-ness and whether the things I am doing matter in light of investing in people. What's important? What are my real priorities? How am I using my time?
The benefit I did not expect was feedback from my notes! The first call I got shocked me and was a surprise. He not only thanked me, but said maybe he would write some himself. The second call I got shared how it was received at just the right time and how it also made a difference to her husband who had seen it on the table. Others have thanked me and have expressed surprise. My daughter has gotten some nice notes back and all those notes and calls have touched our hearts. We didn't realize how blessing someone else this way would come back to us in the ways it has. What an unexpected blessing for us!
It has been fairly easy for me to write these notes as I think about the people and the part they played in my life. Some I have not seen for a long time. Some were only in my life for a short time or at a specific time. Some have been in my life a long time and I may have taken them for granted and never told them what they mean to me. I try to write something specific in each note, something they specifically have done. Many have turned into thank you notes!
So many people give something up for Lent and I get that. Sacrificing something when Christ has done so much for us could be a good idea. But sometimes I see people giving up something so superfluous or insignificant. One of my granddaughters explained to me that you give up something for Lent that you don't want anyway. We laughed, but she didn't get it. I know others who don't get it either. So when I prepared to write my cards, I printed this out: "Many people give something up for Lent, but I wanted instead to do something positive, something that would show others how God has used them in the past. God has blessed me through YOU! I thank God for you!" I cut this out and put it in each of my cards so people wouldn't wonder why I sent a card to them out of the blue.
It has been an exercise in joy. I am so glad my daughter decided to do it, and her doing it, prompted me to do it also. Remembering and reflecting has been so good for me. It has increased the joys of my heart!
