Love Letters

By Jennifer Slattery –

One day, while cleaning out our closet, I found a shoebox tucked behind a bunch of clutter. Curiosity bid me, and I pulled it down and sifted through the items. It contained rusted railroad nails, an antique pocket watch attached to a chain, old baseball game stubs, and numerous other creased, rusted, or slightly tarnished items. My heart was touched to see the softer side of my husband displayed in the saving of each item.

I’m certain every stub and nail told a story, perhaps of the first baseball game he attended or the watch given to him by his grandfather who has since passed. But what touched me most were the numerous slips of paper and cards I found buried beneath it all, my young, immature writing scrawled across them.

I had to giggle at my immaturity. “I love you,” heart, heart, dot the exclamation point with a large heart. Those letters had touched my husband deeply, so much so that he had saved them all these years.

I paused, remembering the first love letter he wrote me. He’s not much of a talker, and even less of a writer. He’s notorious for the one word email. Or, the blank email, with everything I need to know written in the subject heading.

But on this day, he was Casanova with a pen. It was our first marriage retreat hosted at a nearby hotel. We went with scarred, yet healing hearts, and a bit of baggage. One of the first assignments we were given was to write a love letter to our spouses.

My husband and I found a quiet corner in a far back hotel hallway and set to writing what was in our hearts. We wouldn’t write about what was bothering us. It wasn’t time to resolve past hurts. It was time to love, and to tell each other what we cherished most about one another and our marriage.

Honestly, I was expecting a two, maybe three sentence letter: “I love you. I’m glad I married you. Love Steve.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched my husband hunched over his paper, pen in hand. He wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I write fast, so I finished first and set mine aside.

He continued to write. If only I had saved that first letter. I have no idea where it went, but it touched me so deeply, tears poured from my eyes as I read it.

Never underestimate the power of a written “I love you.” It has the power to heal, to soothe, to defuse, and to unite.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the day to day, we forget to tell our spouses how much we love them. Often, we forget to think about our love for them. If you dwell on the negative, you’ll find it every time. But, if you seek out the lovely, good and pure, you’ll find it’s been there all along.

This Valentine’s day, I encourage you to write your letter a spouse telling them what you appreciate about them and what you love about your marriage. Perhaps, in the letter, reminisce about a romantic moment shared between the two of you. And most of all, cherish your spouse, focusing on their good qualities—those things that drew you to them—not things you wish they’d change.