Dear Sir,
I heartily approved of Chris Idle’s excellent plea for something more personal at Christmas (en, December 2014).
I’d like to extend what he said to the rest of the year too. I agree there is a place for emails, but there is something too shallow in how they are often used.
I met up with some friends at Keswick in 2013. I took them for days out, bought them a wedding anniversary gift and brought them home – nothing exceptional in this as we are encouraged to ‘do good to all men, especially those of the household of faith’ (Galatians 6.10). When I had been back a few days I received an email thanking me. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I was grateful to be thanked of course, but it got me thinking about this issue too. Some things have just a little too much gravitas to be met with an email or perhaps even a text message.
It has been my practice for some time now to choose an appropriate card and write a personal note of greeting. Chris is right; it takes time and effort and better reflects our gratitude or concern. Actually, I suspect people rather like getting ‘snail-mail’. So I commend this practice to your readers.
In a increasingly impersonal world, let’s practice the fact that we are made in the image of God and be more personal – not just at Christmas, but throughout 2015.
Yours faithfully,
