ChristianWeek

Annual letters can be both blessing and a bane. Most people hate to write them and others begrudge the time it takes to read through them. Many don’t bother with either. They should. This can be so much more than a tired ritual, and I, for one, am happy to assert that sending cards and occasional personal updates is worth the effort and the attention.

Several years ago I quit sending out a Christmas letter for at least one very practical reason: no time in the busy pre-Christmas Day season. But since we close our office between Christmas and January 2, the Koop family newsletter made a return—albeit a little late. Now we call it a New Year’s letter. Procrastination breeds creativity, eh? Technology helps too. No longer must I write and photocopy, address envelopes and affix stamps. Now it’s mostly a matter of hunkering down on the computer for a few hours to create the thing and little more time to send it to bunches of people with very little extra effort or cost. One result is that a much wider circle of friends gets to read (or is subjected to) news about my family and me. And they get to see pictures. Isn’t technology great?

Each year the response is wonderful and deeply encouraging. Suddenly my inbox begins to fill with news and notes from friends far and wide. I hear about new projects, new jobs, new children, new grandchildren, new homes, new ministries, new insights, new resolutions and new problems. I hear words of encouragement.

Brings delight

Sometimes the mere fact of making contact renews old conversations and brings delight. It’s easy to be private in our society—to cocoon into a personal comfort zone. But staying connected is a very important part of being human. Real community requires us to be willing to share realities of our lives with others and to be interested in theirs.

All this is a way of suggesting that your family is bigger than you think, and that reading ChristianWeek regularly is a great way to keep in touch with your far-flung friends all throughout the year.