Wise Beyond His Years

In February, I wrote in a Monday Message that I was going to send letters of encouragement every week to people who might need them. Since then I’ve written six letters of encouragement and this evening I will write another one.

I don’t know for sure if my handwritten letters are received because I don’t always hear back. But that’s not the point. The point is to put some goodwill out there and hope that it truly does do some good.

On Friday of last week, I did receive a letter in the mail. But it wasn’t from someone that I sent a letter of encouragement to. It was from my Grandson, Colin, who lives up in Liberty Lake, Washington. Colin is only 13 years old, but he is on my Monday Message list, and apparently he not only reads my Monday Messages, he says, “They give me a lot to think about.”

Colin’s letter surprised me, excited me, and touched me deeply. He may only be thirteen, but his writing is exceptional and so is his heart. He wrote, “Your reminder to think of others, even when things are tough, really resonated with me.” He went on to explain, “I was hoping to do a good thing like you, so I put another letter in this envelope that I hope Grandma can use in one of the suitcases she donates to Foster children. And I even talked my little sister into writing a letter of encouragement for a Foster child too.”

The last part of Colin’s letter practically made my heart burst. He said, “Thank you Grandpa for always being there for me and sharing your wisdom with me. Your weekly messages may seem simple, but they are having a profound impact on my life. I hope one day I can be as wise and compassionate as you are.”

I don’t consider myself all that wise at times. But I am smart enough to know that when I sit down to write my seventh letter of encouragement tonight, it should go out to a very special 13-year-old boy, who is already wise beyond his years.

“Some persons hold,” he said, “that there is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.” 

~ Charles Dickens, 1854