Written by Peggy W

I live in a foreign country, far away from home. I am a mother and a grandmother. Our family is very close, and we miss each other more than words can say. When we have the opportunity to visit each other, our time together is precious. Goodbyes are painful because we know that the time we will be separated will be long, and the great distance between us magnifies that feeling. We know there will be times when we will need each other, but we will not be able to be there. However, we are all content, knowing we are where God wants us to be and doing what He called us to do. 

Letters, emails, pictures, and phone calls make our day! They keep us connected. Through them we laugh at the grandchildren’s antics, smile at the news of a baby’s first step or first tooth, keep up with our family and friends’ lives, and simply talk to each other and enjoy the sound of each others’ voices. I check my email every morning, and when there is a letter from one of our kids or family or friends I cannot wait to read it. I have kept certain emails over the years; I go back and read them again, chuckling as I read the stories for the umpteenth time. They tug at my heart every time as I am reminded once more of my lovely family and friends.

Letters from home. I was walking home from the post office one day and was considering how much letters from home mean to me, when I also realized God was teaching me a lesson about His Word. 

We all live in a foreign land. We have ‘letters from home’ written to us by our Heavenly Father, letters which we have in our precious Bible.

  • Do they mean as much to us as what I have tried to describe to you that my letters mean to me? Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart (Psalm 119:111).
  • Do we pick our Bible up and open it every day, eager to see what God has to say to us that day? 

Sometimes when I check the email there is nothing new in the inbox, and I walk away a little disappointed. God, however, is faithful. His word is alive. He feeds us daily from His Book. 

My habit is to read from Genesis to Revelation. There are some spots in the Old Testament which are dry to me, but I still enjoy reading through them. Sometimes as I read I know what is ahead, and I cannot wait to get to a certain phrase because I know it is going to bless my heart when I read it-and it does every time. For example, Ezekiel has been seeing many strange things in his visions from the Lord. When the Lord shows him the valley full of dry bones and asks him if he thinks they could live again, Ezekiel says, O Lord God, Thou knowest (Ezekiel 37:3). Humanly speaking, it does not seem possible, but Ezekiel has seen enough to know that it is possible with God. 

God’s word cleanses and renews our inner man: The inward man is renewed day by day (II Corinthians 4:16), and Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth (John 17:17). The illustration is given of a bucket full of holes that water is poured through again and again. The water does not remain in the bucket, but the bucket stays clean thanks to the water that continually pours through it. We may not retain everything we read, nor may we understand everything we read in our Bibles, but God is using His word to cleanse us and sanctify us for His use. Eugenia Price wrote “that every syllable of the word of God which we drop into our subconscious minds stays there and becomes a usable part of us. Even if we don’t seem to ‘get it’ with our conscious minds.” 

God’s word is quick and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). As we read through Psalm 119, we cannot help but realize how much we need it to be a part of our daily lives in order to live a victorious, Christian life. Uphold me according unto Thy word, that I may live (Psalm 119:116a). 

I love my Bible. It never ceases to amaze me that I have been reading the same book for over 35 years, and yet I see something new in the same verses I have read over and over. God’s word is alive and will never stop working in our lives. He has given us a wonderful Book. That day as I took my walk and thought on these things, I saw very clearly that I can thank God that I live in a foreign country, for I might otherwise never have learned this illustration and lesson of appreciation for God’s word – His letters to me.

©2009 Thrive