Handwritten Notes

I remember as a child receiving a letter in the mail to my parent's house. It was addressed to "Master Eric Rainey". If I close my eyes I can still see the blue ink on that white envelope. I thought it was so cool that it said Master. I didn't know that is proper etiquette when addressing a male minor.

It was a letter from my Royal Ranger commander, Bill Lowe. It was a letter of affirmation, and it was written to me. I'll never forget how important and valued that made me feel.

When I started in ministry in 2000 I decided that I wanted to say the most important things in a special way. I would hand-write notes and letters to convey the most meaningful messages. I didn't think of it as a big deal when I would write thank you notes to my youth workers on stationary I printed myself. I used the header line: From the desk of the Quake, From the heart of Pastor Ben. Once a staffer from my youth staff commented that he loved getting the little postcards from me. I hoped that he felt like I did getting that letter from Mr. Bill.

When I started Severn River Church handwritten notes was a habit I carried forward; though not often enough. I send each guest that we host at SRC a note thanking them for attending our weekend service. I send thank you notes to people who serve the church. I send handwritten notes, on occasion, to those who have drifted away from the church. I much prefer them to 8.5 x 11 printed Word Docs. And because I want to show the respect of thinking about that person. You know it's common to say, "You're in my thoughts and prayers." or "I'm thinking about you." but when I sit down to jot a note, I really do think of that person for as long as it takes to write the note. By comparison, it is usually much longer than most people think about anyone besides themselves.

I'm not sure that handwritten notes make others feel like they make me feel, but I certainly hope they do. The people I write are so valuable to me and the Lord, that I try to communicate it in the best way I know how. Today I sent out a pile of handwritten notes. I got to think about valuable people for a while. I got to pray for them as I wrote. I got to express some things that in some cases were long overdue.

Now, if only people could read my handwriting...

--Ben