The older I get, the more I understand how important cards are in conveying thoughts and emotions that our own words can’t. No matter the season or occasion, you can always head to your favorite card shop and peruse the stacks of cards until you find the one that captures the moment to perfection.
We’re coming up on Christmas and before long, cards will be coming and going, at least for most of us. There are some who would love to be able to send a card to a special someone, conveying their Christmas cheer, but circumstances prohibit it. One such group is the inmates in our Leon County prison. For the last several years, our church has collected cards that we make available to the inmates for them to mail out to their loved ones. According to the prison chaplain, our efforts save the season for a good number of inmates, who otherwise would have no way to send such a card. And it is true; not a year goes by that we don’t receive several notes from inmates, expressing their gratitude.
One inmate wrote these words last year: “I am not from Tallahassee. I will not get to see my loved ones this Christmas season. My parents live (out of state). I feel terrible to be away from them and unable to get them anything at all for Christmas. Because of the cards you provided, however, I was able to reach out to them and tell them how much I love them, that I miss them, and to ask for their forgiveness.” I think you can see how all the effort is worth it, a thousand words worth it.
Our leadership team has asked that we begin bringing our cards to the church this Sunday, November 15. Collection boxes will also be around the church. As with past efforts, we ask that you pay close attention to the message of the cards you donate. Please make sure that they are appropriately religious and speak to the situation the inmates are in with the hope, peace, joy, and love that characterize the transforming news of “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.”
The deadline for this year’s collection is Sunday, December 6. That date gives our volunteers plenty of to gather, separate, and mail the cards in time for the inmates to receive them, be blessed by their message, and the bless someone else with it. But remember, for that message to have its maximum impact, it must be appropriate to both the season and the setting.
A card really is worth a thousand words. And in this case, it is worth the one Word that became flesh in the Bethlehem baby. Is it worth it? You can believe so; especially when it reminds someone of God’s unmerited love and His grace that is capable of changing every life for the better, even as it has, and still is, changing you and me.
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