A Box of Love

God always gives me just what I need exactly when I need it.

Father’s Day is a tough day without my hubby Bob. It’s a reminder of what I don’t have. On Mother’s Day, I am always a mom. On Father’s Day I totally feel like a widow. Some holidays are harder than others. Father’s Day is one of those.

I’m sure I wasn’t thinking it was going to be a special day when I woke up on that Sunday morning.

But God…

Yep, He turned that day right side up in a huge way.

Our church had a guest speaker for the Father’s Day Service. Todd Durkin spoke of being a godly earthly father and also reminded us that we all have a heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally. As part of his talk, he showed us a collection of letters that his own father had written to him while he was in college. He read some excerpts from some of these letters and spoke of how much it meant to him to have a father that cared about him enough to write to him.

Oh yes, people used to write letters and cards and send them in the mail! It’s not something that many people do these days since it is much easier to text, FaceTime, or message. He reminded us that there is power in the written word and that parents today should try to practice this habit and write to their children.

I almost jumped up out of my seat at church. I wanted to go home and find Kyle’s box of letters from his dad! I have been storing a lot of Kyle’s belongings (mainly Legos) since he graduated from college in 2012.

I thought that somewhere in the HUGE collection of items I have been saving for Kyle was a box of letters. I hadn’t opened that box since the day Kyle handed it to us as he packed up to leave college. I wasn’t even sure I still had it. Had this box been thrown away in our move? I hadn’t thought about it in so many years. I just wanted to get home and see if I could find it.

And there in my garage was the cardboard box. Right on top. In plain view. Prominent and easy to get to. I had a racing heart and shaking hands as I reached for the box. Was this the one? Did it still contain the letters? Were there really letters from Bob as I recollected? Was I only imagining?

You can’t imagine my happiness upon opening the cardboard box and seeing the letters. Nearly a 6” stack of handwritten letters. Neatly printed in pencil on lined paper from a tablet. Stacked in the box along with greeting cards and pictures we had mailed to Kyle during his 4 years in college. A treasure trove.

With weepy eyes, I read a few of the letters. Just a day-to-day accounting of what we were doing out here in Alpine while he was in New York. Every letter told him of how much he was missed and how much he was loved. Nothing earthshattering but it rocked my world this Father’s Day in 2023.

God knew I needed a boost in my spirit on Father’s Day and gave me that and so much more. Being able share this with our son on his first Father’s Day was such a blessing for me. Both of us loved reminiscing about the letters. Kyle said he had LOVED getting these nearly daily letters from his dad! They meant so much then. And they mean so much to Kyle now. A piece of his dad. A piece of his dad’s heart.

A box of love.