The Letter

I carry the letter with me in the front pocket of my Bible. It's not just any letter. It's a letter from my Dad. It's very special to me for lots of reasons. I received the letter almost 12 years ago now. He wrote the letter to me when I was an adult. I don't recall any other letters he wrote to me.

Another reason I cherish the letter is that my Dad passed away about 6 1/2 years ago. I love the ornate but shakey handwriting that covers the envelope. In spite of the rheumatoid arthritis that caused him to suffer with such pain for as long as I can remember, it was important for him to write to me. I cannot describe how special that makes me feel.

He was writing to me to thank me for a tape I had sent him for his birthday. It was a compilation of songs I had played and mixed on my brother-in-law's keyboard. Nothing fancy - just my Dad's favorite hymn arrangements; some I had played since my grade school days. His favorite was, "Crown Him with Many Crowns." He wrote, "At 3:30 a.m. you would think I would be sound asleep, but instead I opted to listen to a sweet little girl's fingers running over a keyboard at a neighbor's piano...Your recording reminds me of something very important and appropriate for the occasion - Laudate Dominum in sanetis eius. "

Despite the pain in his wrists and fingers, my dear Dad wrote out the entire 150th Psalm:

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. (KJV)

Looking back, I'm so glad I took the time to make that simple recording. It wasn't an expensive gift, and I'm sure I made a few mistakes, but to my Dad, it meant a lot! I know, because his letter means so very much to me.