The social networking revolution and the lost art of letter writing

“There have been prophets and students who handle the Bible like a child’s box of bricks; they explain to us the design and structure and purpose; but as time goes on things do not work out in their way at all. They have mistaken the scaffolding for the structure, while all the time God is working out His purpose with a great and undeterred patience.”
― Oswald Chambers

I have heard it said that gone are days when people wrote personal mail to loved ones. True, it is sad and yes we should go back to developing that art form of communication.  After all, there is something special about  a loved one opening up a letter with your heart felt words of appreciation along with your signature. Letter's  can be read and reread many times over by the receiver's.

My dad was a letter writer. When he was in school he actually received the Palmer Penmanship award for having the most fluent writing. Today, schools have dropped their penmanship classes for laptops thinking  there is no need for penmanship when most of them will be clicking away any ways what they want to say.

Why can't we restore our past love for writing letters along with  sending e-mails and typing correspondence on the keyboard? I would venture to say that our lives would be more enrich if we did.  One of the most cherish gifts I have from my dad are the letters and cards received with his personal message and handwritten signature.  When I open them I am reminded of the thought he put into writing those messages.

What if all of us chose to write handwritten letters to our loved ones regardless how fluent or less than fluent our handwriting might be? What if our loved ones can one day pick up that written correspondence years later and read our words again? Letter's, after all, stand the test of time. E-mails can be deleted as soon as they are read, but personally written letters are cherished more than any other inheritance a parent may give a child.

The Social networking revolution is an awesome thing because it has allowed our world to grow exponentially  faster than it ever could without it.  What if along with this new social networking revolution we discover the art of personal letter writing? What if everyone who reads these words went out and bought special pens, paper and stamps and decide to write a heart felt letter to loved ones who one day will pick up that aged and yellow paper and read your words long after you had departed?

Where would Christianity be without the scribes writing the words of the apostles and the words of Jesus on paper? Words that have stood the test of time.  Words that continue to change the hearts and mind of future generations!