The Letters

Guest Post by Rhoda Baty

I have a attractively decorated box sitting on a shelf. I decorated it myself showing my personality, who I am and what I like. In it are valuable letters. Letters that I read so I get to know the person the letters are about.

Twenty plus years ago, I met a sister I didn’t grow up with. We had no internet yet, no cell phones, and long distance calls were pricy. She lived in Iowa and I lived in Washington. We  corresponded through ‘snail mail’.

Her letters to me were precious as they told me all about her. What life was like growing up for her, who her parents were, how they treated her and how she handled what life handed her. All her letters went into that box, years of her life preserved. I opened that box, rereading them often, getting to know her although I hadn’t seen her. I was learning what she liked and didn’t like. Who she was and who she wasn’t.

Then one day a letter came. She said she was coming for a visit. I panicked a bit. How would I recognize her at the airport?  How would I know it was her? I got the box of letters out and reread them again and again.

I would look for a woman of my height and weight. A woman wearing a watch that matched her outfit. A woman with very short hair, wearing glasses. A woman with a smile on her face and kindness in her eyes. I knew what to look for because of how she described herself in her letters.

It’s the same way I know how to recognize Jesus in my life. I read His book. It describes Him perfectly. Like rereading my sister’s letters, I need to reread the Bible daily. That’s how I get to know Him better, so I can recognize Him and love Him more.

My sister longed for connection to the siblings she didn’t know.  She, being the oldest, wanted to have a relationship with the family she was denied. She wanted to know us on a deeper level. As well, we, her siblings longed for connection. We wanted to know everything about each other.

In the same way, God wanted to have a relationship with us, so He sent His Son. Then recorded it for us to experience who He is and what He is like. He longs to interact with us on a deeper level. He gave us His Word so we could know Him better and we could love Him more.

He told us everything there is to know about Him.

I had another opportunity to see my sister in person a few years ago and she hadn’t changed. She had a smile on her face and kindness in her eyes. We now communicate through email, but she is the same as she was in the letters she sent so long ago. I know her better and have grown to love her more.

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is the same today as He was when His Word was written. As I reread His letters to me I know Him better and I love Him more.

Rhoda Baty is a Life Coach with “Hopeful Heart Coaching,”and works as a secretary at an alternative high school.

Rhoda lives in Snohomish, WA, about 30 miles north of Seattle, with her pastor husband of 37 ‘never a dull moment’ years, two daughter’s/son’s-in-law and her 7 grandchildren. You can learn more about Rhoda at www.lifecoachingwithrhoda.com.