At times, it may seem that no progress at all is observable in one's spiritual journey. It is helpful to provide one's self with some sort of marker. Journalizing ... putting one's thoughts down in writing ... provides this type of marker. Over a period of time, one can reread previous writings and discern an overall direction, progress, or theme.
My original letters to Sarah I had decided to bind up as a bunch of letters and give to her as "a gift of love" for a Christmas present in 1997. That thought evolved into the idea of publishing them. When the fairy tale came to mind, that particular letter seemed to be a logical end to the first set of letters of a published set. It was close to Valentine's Day 1998 when I was able to get the letters printed as a book. Valentine's Day seemed to be an appropriate day to give Sarah my "gift of love for her."
The fairy tale from the first set of letters had so many things in it that reminded me of letters that I had written to Sarah previously. In each letter of the second set of letters, I decided to point out a previous letter written to Sarah that might contain information relative to one of the paragraphs of the fairy tale. This decision determined how many letters would be written in the second set of letters. I chose the fairy tale paragraphs consecutively so that determined when each paragraph of the fairy tale would be considered. Each of the letters would also deal with things happening in my and Sarah's lives. These "life happenings" might also revolve about the idea of growing relationships including "growth in the Lord." The letter collection was ready for release after Easter. Pentecost Sunday 1998 seemed to be an appropriate "day of celebration" to release the second set of letters.
The third set of letters continued from the ideas of receiving a gift of love ... faith ... Jesus ... and growing in a relationship with that gift. Once one receives "the gift" and develops a strong relationship with the gift, the question comes to mind, "What do I do with this gift?" One attempts to "hear the call." However, I received the messages, "Wait on Me." and "Listen." So I waited, prayed, and listened. Then I started writing more letters to Sarah. The time frame between letters was not consistent but the letters came as the spirit (Spirit) spoke. "It was time" for the third set to be finished. Here I sit now writing this last reflection on the Letters to Sarah trilogy. The next "day of celebration" is Father's Day 1999, and so, the letter collection, Hearing His Call, will be released on that Sunday.
As I was approaching what I felt would be the end of the third set of letters, I thought that I would do 60 letters total. It was an even number ... averaging 20 letters per set. But, I received an impression, "Do 59. That is a prime number. Mathematically, it is a number that is divisible by no number but the number 1. In other words, it is indivisible."
A Gift of Love was released on Valentine's Day, a day celebrated as a day of love. Jesus was a sign of God's love for us. "And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him." (1 John 4:9)
Growing in the Lord was released on Pentecost Sunday, a day celebrated for when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples of Jesus. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, proceeds from the Father and the Son. It is the result of the relationship between the Father and the Son that the Holy Spirit is.
Hearing His Call will be released on Father's Day, a day celebrated as a day for fathers. We might want to include God the Father in this list of fathers that we love. "Father, what is it that you want me to do? How can I serve you?"
Was this theme of Son, Holy Spirit, and Father with the respective release dates planned ... or was it purely coincidental?
I leave you with that question to consider ...