Reading You

I was just reading a blog post from one of my favorite authors, Francine Rivers.  She was talking about collections and why we keep things.  In her post, she asked if any of her readers collected things and why. (if you would like to read her post, here's the link, http://www.francinerivers.com/blog/collections )  It made me think for a bit, and I responded with the following:

"Many different things in my life have been "collected" throughout the years, only to eventually be given away or thrown out.  But I seemed to have held onto written words like they were pieces of gold ever since childhood.  Any birthday card with a personal written message, any letter, any drawing, poem, song, journal or diary... I have kept them all.  Because of these collections, I have precious, irreplaceable treasures.  I have letters from my now deceased grandmother who was my best friend.  I have one-of-a-kind gifts that money cannot buy.  I have my childhood recorded in silly diaries and serious journals.  In today's age of technology, words come a dime a dozen, because they are so easily tapped out onto a computer keyboard, proof read with spell check, and sometimes even copied straight from websites.  But nothing will ever replace the magic that occurs when pen meets paper.  Somewhere between the time when words are formed in the mind to the time they appear on the page, the heart speaks.  To me, such words are treasures, worth more than any generic gift from a store.  May we never take for granted the simple things in life that can be so valuable."

To those of you who have blessed me with the gift of your handwritten words, thank you.  I have treasured each and every one.  Reading your  unique penmanship (the word "deciphering" applies to some, ha!) have been some of the greatest moments of my life.  I love the convenience of email and texts, and those who know me at all know how MUCH I love it.  But nothing electronic, no matter how eloquent or flawless, will ever replace seeing your personality expressed in your written words, for it's in those moments that your heart has captured mine.  Thank you, my dear friends.