I was blessed to have received many condolence cards following the death of my father in January. I received calls and emails as well. As the cards stacked up, I figured I needed the right time to reply by sending thank you notes. The stack was formidable and I could not muster the energy needed to start the writing process. Normally, I like to handle correspondences once so that I economize the energy around the activities.
Even with Facebook, I pledged to acknowledge each message that is written so that the person knows I have seen it and I have read it. I cannot respond to all messages beyond the "like," and it is the most I can do.
Well, I began writing the cards. What a grace it is. Though the words of prayerful support were very helpful in the wake of my father's death, taking a few weeks apart gives me a more balanced way to reflect upon and consider the thoughtfulness and care that I have received. There were a few times when I said, "I must have missed this one" but this second time through gives me an opportunity to honor those who have expressed their sympathy and condolences. I get to lift them up in prayer the way I do with Christmas cards.
Before I put Christmas cards away in January, I take a day where I lift up the people who send cards and I remember them to God because of their goodness to me. Now, I'm reciprocating by doing the same for those who sent cards.
I want to emphasize the importance of good old fashioned cards and correspondences. They endure beyond emails and texts, which are also very good and necessary, but a card is a physical manifestation of one's care.
I realizes that cards are like a doorway from one world to the next. It transports one from one place to another, a liminal space, a thin place, where heaven exists on earth. I'm grateful to be able to respond to these many correspondences because heaven is certainly brought closer.
