Love Letters

By Joy Angela Valdez

“Joy, girl, people don’t take time to write letters anymore. Snail mail is no longer in fashion!” My friend Marsha was lamenting once again the loss of yet another tradition. Although she is many years younger than me, like me, she has a heart for writing and mourns the death of proper grammatical structures. Her words led me to refocus on the written word and how it impacts our lives.

I remembered the first love letter I had ever received. It read in part, “The race to my heart is over and among the few contestants, you are the winner.” It was a well-penned letter and my teenage heart had felt an extra thrill when I read that sentence. The young man who had written it was also a teenager. Neither of us were Christians and at the time I sincerely believed all that he had written. I smiled as I reminisced and wondered how much thought he had put into the writing process. Time proved that the vital element of truth was missing. The letter no longer exists and its writer was not the man who became my husband.

I thought of another well-penned sentence from one who also wrote of His love for me. His words were written centuries before my conception, but the truth in them remain irrefutable. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

These are well-written words I also believed, and my life was transformed because of my belief. In this “traditional” piece of writing, I find a template for my own writing. Questions I ask myself are: Am I representing truth in my writing? Will my words withstand the test of time? Will my readers be positively impacted by what I write? How well am I representing the One who truly loves me? I am always amazed and sometimes amused by the way God communicates with us. I will be fascinated forever by His love for me.

Lord, continue to guide me as I represent you, not only in my writing, but in all that I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This article by Joy Angela Valdez is published in MAI’s new devotional book, Light for the Writer’s Soul: 100 devotions by global Christian writers, on a special SALE for $11.99 USD through February 19. Read more inspiring articles in this unique devotional book.

Joy is a published poet who has accepted her first name as her life’s mission. She lives in Trinidad, the larger of the twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago.