Bundle of Letters | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Bundle of Letters | Previous Challenge Entry
By Marilyn Borga
04/29/20
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There’s a bundle of letters packed away with my treasures. They were written by my mother’s sister, my Aunt Marie. Within these messages are captured memories from decades of shared holiday meals, summer weekend visits, and family reunions.

Within a day or two of each visit, I could anticipate a card or letter of thanks from her. Birthdays, anniversaries, and vacations were commemorated in writing. Today I can snatch a few letters from the pile and be instantly transported into the past. When I see the familiar handwriting, I can still hear the lilt in her voice and recall her smiling face and kind eyes. I can recall laughter and stories as we lingered around the dining room table or strolled through the yard.

The words are a tangible record of family events and our relationships with each other:
“Thank you for the beautiful Easter Sunday, the hospitality, the food, and being with you…” or “Thanks! Thanks! Thanks for the wonderful Thanksgiving Day spent with you! All the good food, fellowship, and love…”

Her interest and concern for our daily lives and her love for our growing family shone through the pages:
“Little Stevie is so darling. He has the cutest giggle…” and two years later: “So happy for you! Can’t wait to see the little princess...” She’d send birthday greetings with dollar bills or sticks of gum tucked inside: “A six-year-old already! I’m sure you had fun with your cousins when they visited…”

Tidbits of common, everyday events recall what a hard worker she was: “I’m canning now--- have five quarts of juice and four pints of grape butter. Also did a bushel of tomatoes. Thelma brought me two turkeys to roast for Saturday’s church dinner.”

One of the notes is written on a card with Winslow Homer’s painting “The Reaper” on the front. It shows a slender farmer working in a field with a scythe. She writes to my mother: “Betty, doesn’t this picture make you think of Pop? I could just picture him doing this around the edge of the field.”

Sometimes her letters would reflect on our Hungarian heritage: “When John talked about dill on potatoes, he must have been thinking of parsley,” she wrote. “I know our mom put dill in the milk gravy and in cottage cheese for the derelye.”*

Marie was the oldest of the siblings, so she was the go-to person when anyone had a question about family history. She had a wealth of information to teach us about the past. I value these written illustrations of my family legacy penned by one who loved us so dearly.

But I have another bundle of letters of even more value. Rather than being handwritten on cards or stationery and held together with a rubber band, these are contained in a leather-bound volume. They were conceived by One who loves beyond measure. The fifty-some scribes who penned the letters were ordinary men who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote the most extraordinary story of the ages.

Just as my aunt’s letters evoke memories of our family history, the words of scripture paint the rich history of a people chosen to point the world to the one true God. It’s God’s desire that we read the stories, remember, and learn from them. The collection of letters tells of the failures, anguish, and bitter mistakes of people who were much like me. They also hold tales of triumphs, joy, and faith. His words reveal the love and concern he has for me, even in the smallest details of my life. They speak of the unfathomable sacrifice of Jesus, who offered his own life so that I could be adopted into the family of God.

These love letters from God are every bit as personal as the letters my aunt penned to me, yet they are totally inclusive. They’re intended for every person in every tribe and nation on the earth. No one is too distant to be included. They contain the invitation to the largest family reunion imaginable.

I’ve already made my reservation and I’m just waiting for the time and date to be announced. You’re invited, too. Please come; join the family. Our father is waiting with open arms.

***
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)

*Derelye: Hungarian filled dumplings

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