Handwritten Notes
Birthday gifts come and go, but with it came the expectation of a thank you. Aunts and Uncles slipped a $5 bill into a birthday card each year and within the week, I wrote a thank you note to that aunt and uncle in my best penmanship.
Handwritten “thank yous” were the norm of my growing up years. My mom taught my brothers and I at a young age that there was no gift too small that didn’t deserve one of these treasured notes. And treasured they were! Years later, I found many a note that my mom and dad had saved that I wrote to them. To my parents they were little love notes that kept a piece of each child close by even after we moved away.
The honored tradition of writing handwritten notes, whether as a thank you, for encouragement, or even a love note, is no longer valued as it once was. Instead, we find ourselves texting or emailing our “thank you” or quite possibly just saying the words.
How can we pass on these little love note traditions when we have lost sight of the blessing of letting someone know they are treasured and known?
Gift of Intentionality
Several weekends ago, I was in the Smoky Mountains with my oldest son. It wasn’t enough for me to be in one of my favorite places. Instead, of taking the beauty for granted, I intentionally searched for these handwritten snippets of splendor as we rounded every bend. You see God adores leaving the best love notes where we least expect them. And we end up missing the treasure right in front of us because we already have our eyes seeking what’s hidden around the next curve.
I am not always intentional as I go throughout my days. I have my moments, but more often than not, you will find me hyper-focused on the task at hand. It’s hard to admit this to all of you, but we face so many choices on any given day. For me, intentionality gets shoved towards the bottom of the list.
But on this extended weekend trip, I chose to find the unseen by:
snapping a picture of the the scattered leaves, walking on trails with my eyes wide open and heart ready to receive.
And the best parts of the weekend were the sweet love notes God scattered for my son and I to find.
In Ezekiel, we read this description of the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden. It catches our full attention and causes heads to turn at its beauty. But God doesn’t always make it is easy to uncover His love notes.
It was immense,
dwarfing all the trees in the forest—
Thick boughs, long limbs,
roots delving deep into earth’s waters.
All the birds of the air
nested in its boughs.
All the wild animals
gave birth under its branches.
All the mighty nations
lived in its shade.
It was stunning in its majesty—
the reach of its branches!
the depth of its water-seeking roots!
Not a cedar in God’s garden came close to it.
No pine tree was anything like it.
Mighty oaks looked like bushes
growing alongside it.
Not a tree in God’s garden
was in the same class of beauty.
I made it beautiful,
a work of art in limbs and leaves,
The envy of every tree in Eden,
every last tree in God’s garden. Ezekiel 31:6-8 MSG
Instead, God calls us to intentionally seek Him with our whole being. To take a chance on traveling the unknown path. And seeing beauty where we least expect it.
[Tweet “Will you intentionally seek to find God’s sweet love notes in the unseen and unknown? #TellHisStory”]
That is abundance.
A life living in obedience to a gracious God.
Our story intertwined with God’s story.
A comma where we normally put a period.
I pray sweet blessings for all of you this week. May you find abundance and beauty in the most remarkable spaces as you walk through a new week.
Blessings,
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Mary, I am intentionally going to look for the unseen this week! We are leaving for vacation on Friday. New place, new handiwork, new scenery….there will be love notes a plenty:) And, I don’t want to miss them!!
I pray your journey into noticing and claiming God’s gifts is a blessing. I hope vacation is filled with beauty and blessings.
Love it – seeking to find the intentional love notes from God in the every day! Sometimes, I am so busy, or so focused on checking the boxes off my to do list that I miss the things God is displaying for me. Thank you for the reminder 🙂 Blessings
It is easy to miss what God has for us. It is also easy to allow ourselves to be consumed in our to do lists. What I love is God’s patience and willingness to never give up on showing up with little treasures.
Your pictures are stunning. Isn’t God so creative and good? laurensparks.net
Yes He is! May you find many intentional moments in your day where God leaves little love notes just for you.
Mary, I am not always intentional during my days and often just take things as they come. But I do want to remember to look for God’s love notes all through the day. Blessings to you! Thank you for the reminder!
I pray God provides many moments where you can’t help but be intentional. May you find Him in the beauty you see around every corner.
Absolutely adore this! Seeking God’s love notes. When first a Christian, I was advised to ask God daily to show me His love. This reminds me of that. I find myself leaving my camera behind on many of my walks now so I’m not so focused on finding the next ‘shot’ but instead just being shown.
Is it hard to leave your camera behind on your walks? I find that I see God more clearly as I focus in on His beauty with my camera even if it is a phone camera. I love how you were advised to ask God to show you His love. I bet that the answers were amazing. Thanks for being here.
Loved your post today! Especially these words: “God calls us to intentionally seek Him with our whole being. To take a chance on traveling the unknown path. And seeing beauty where we least expect it.”
Next week, I’m on stay-cation and am actually scheduling a day to travel around “these parts” and capture fall beauty with my camera. I can’t wait!
But how much better it would be if I’d be intentional and notice something everyday!
What a treat to have a week’s stay-cation. I pray you find many moments of beauty that God left just for you. May you be present with eyes wide open to all of God’s love notes.
Mary, I loved this post! Keeping eyes wide open for God’s love notes is a beautiful way to approach my day. May we see with eyes of wonder the tender mercies of our God all around today! God bless you!
Thank you, Melissa! I am praying in agreement. May God open our eyes to all of His beautiful love notes that are around every corner.
It must be true what they say, what we find is what we look for. God help us! Thanks for this reminder, Mary. Blessings to you.
I have heard it said that what we focus on is what we become. That is like what you are saying. Blessed you joined in the conversation.
Mary, I LOVE this post and your beautiful detail-oriented photographs. The mountains and rivers and leaves remind me of the gorgeous trails around Greenville, SC when we were there for the Allume conference three years ago today! I especially liked your quote, “That is abundance.
A life living in obedience to a gracious God.
Our story intertwined with God’s story.
A comma where we normally put a period.” Amen!
Many blessings to you, friend ❤️
The photographs were from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. It is similar to the beauty that is around Greenville, SC. Thank you for your sweet encouragement. It is a treat to have you here each week.
I love handwritten notes – both giving and receiving. They are so rare today. I was inspired to be more cognizant of intentionality during a recent visit to my middle son and DIL. They are so inspiring – living their lives with intentionality. They make me want to slow down and pay closer attention.
Welcome, Laurie! Handwritten notes are rare. But such a treasure if we give or receive them. I would love to hear more about how your son and DIL live intentionally. I will be praying for you as you seek God daily and spend time discovering His love notes.
Dear Mary,
These are such beautiful thoughts and gorgeous photos that you shared with us! But I especially love your poetic lines at the end:
“That is abundance.
A life living in obedience to a gracious God.
Our story intertwined with God’s story.
A comma where we normally put a period.”
You’ve captured so well the way to be intentional in our walk with God. Blessings and love Dear Sister!
That’s my favorite part too. God is abundance and the fact that He shows up and displays His glory everyday is a gift. Your sweet words mean so much to me. Thank you dear friend for being here and sharing your encouragement.
I have several handwritten notes saved from my grandmother, my parents, and my children. Such treasures, especially as they are rare these days. How sweet to think of those little glimpses of God’s glory and love as His love notes to us. I love how He finds large and small ways all through the day to communicate His love and care to us.
I bet you love those handwritten notes. I have quite a few I have saved over the years. The beautiful truth about God is that He is present all the time. The idea that He shows His love as little notes of beauty throughout our day is an added bonus. Blessings!
Interesting, our blogs are quite similar this week. Beautiful pics, Mar’.
Great minds think alike. Now I am interested to see what you wrote about! 🙂
Awww, Mary. I loved this post. Being intentional about looking for God’s love notes to us in His creation…this theme has criss-crossed the moments of this day for me. I have times when I am intentional in seeking out His love notes. And days where there feels like too much to be done. I want become consistently open to seeing glimpses of His love.
As an aside, just this morning, one of my boys and I were discussing the value of a handwritten note. He, of course, sees nothing significant in one. I am like you…they mean the world to me. 🙂
And, I put the wrong website for my information…So, let’s try again. 🙂
Thanks for a great post, Mary!
Oh goodness! The joy of linking up!
I see you seeking God’s love notes when you are out walking. Your pictures are a beautiful display of how much He shows up each day. As hard as it is to be intentional, I am always blessed when I take the time to seek God in everything.
And in response to your comment about your son, both of my boys were exactly the same way. I pray they carry on this tradition with their own kids.
Handwritten notes are so special. It is a gift to see handwriting .. that unique stamp of individuality which speaks of being given the time, the attention and the love of another. Beautiful post!
I’m thinking you grew up writing thank you notes like me. I didn’t really like it so much when I was young, but learned what a gift it is to see such joy on the other person’s face when they receive your note. It is important to show other people what they mean to you. God does the same for us. Blessings, Joanne!
I love God’s love notes! These photos are awesome, Mary. The message is, too, but I could only read it in the email, not on the website. The photos are there, but the words aren’t. Is it just me or is there a problem? Thank you for all your encouragement to seek out and uncover God’s love notes! Love and hugs to you!
My website was down for a bit. I hope you were able to link up. It is open until Sunday. Thank you for your sweet words. I pray you experience many moments of discovering God’s love notes just for you.
Beautiful!
Thank you! Blessed to have your here!
A few years ago, I took my Sunday School women through the General Epistles at the end of the NT. We called the class God’s Postcards, and it was amazing how much heavy theological truth is conveyed within those very short, but VERY dense, little books.
I am continually amazed at the way God will stop at NOTHING to make His love and His Truth known to His much-loved children. And I’m so grateful to be one of them.
I am thinking that God’s Postcards sounds like a good title for a book. I can just imagine how blessed you and your group of women were by that study.God loves nothing more than teaching us His truth in any way He can get our attention. For me, it seems to show up most often when I am out walking, soaking in His beauty. Blessings my friend!
Good morning Mary! Oh how this post spoke to me. I want to write more handwritten notes. I agree they are treasures. What a beautiful way to see nature, the way you described God’s handwritten notes to us. Thank you for this encouragement of faith today. In Christ, Julie
Hi Julie! Thank you for being here. I know how much you love seeking and discovering God’s beauty. It is a soul-filling gift. I pray you find many of God’s love notes as you take your daily walks.