There are very few things in the world I love more than mail. Something about receiving a handwritten note from a friend or family member is so special, and it makes my day every single time. The handwritten note could be seen as lost art form, but I have made it my personal mission to continue the craft.
There are quite a few reasons why I believe in the art of the handwritten note.
It shows intentionality.
It takes time and energy to physically write a note to someone. The act of picking out a card, writing down your thoughts, addressing the note, and putting it in the mail takes extra time. But it is much more personal than a text or email. I know we are all spinning a lot of plates, but I have never regretted taking the time to write a note to someone, and I certainly am so thankful for the ones I have received as well.
It encourages the recipient.
Even if you only have time to write down two or three sentences, receiving a handwritten note is so encouraging. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,” (CSB) and a handwritten note is the perfect avenue to send encouragement and affirmation to those you love.
It is memorable.
I keep most of the handwritten notes I receive. Those notes are treasures to me, and I love to reread them. There have been countless times in the past I have gone back to handwritten notes I have kept, and the Lord used them to encourage or strengthen me on a hard day.
Finally, I would like to provide you with a few tips on how to make the handwritten note easier.
- Keep notes in the car or at your desk. The next time you are dropping off a meal to friends, waiting in carline, or have a few minutes before your next meeting or appointment, you can pull out your cards and write a quick note. Keeping cards accessible will remind you to write more notes and make it easier for you too.
- Buy pretty stationery—you’ll be more likely to use it! I have tons of different kinds of notecards that I have purchased from many different shops, but my favorites are my Merci Beaucoup notecards from Lionheart Prints in New Orleans, and my monogram notecards from a local shop here in my hometown of Gadsden, Alabama. But I have found beautiful cards at Dollar Tree, Walmart, and Target, too. I love sending something beautiful to someone I love, and a nice notecard helps me want to send more handwritten notes.
- Keep your friends and family’s addresses in a Google Sheets for easy reference. I started this when I was planning my wedding over fifteen years ago, but I keep a Google Sheets file with names and addresses of my friends and family. When I need to send a quick note, it’s easy for me to pull up my file (usually on the Google Drive app on my phone), find their address, and send the note. This keeps me from having to text someone for an address every time I need to send something. (Bonus idea—when you hear that a friend or family member has moved, update your file so that it’s always ready to go!)
- When you’re tempted to send a thank you text or a text of encouragement, couple it with a handwritten note or send a handwritten note in its place. Texts are great! And they work in a pinch, but if you can make the time, send a note instead. I am much more likely to keep a handwritten note than scroll back to look at a text.
- Encourage your kids to write handwritten notes. I buy my twelve-year-old daughter fun notecards any chance I get. (For you Nashville folks, I’ve found cute ones over the years at Rock, Paper, Scissors in Franklin!) I always encourage my kids to write thank you notes to friends and parents of friends for gifts, outings, and so forth. I want to instill in them the habit of being grateful and writing a handwritten note.
I hope that some of those helpful hints will inspire you to write a note. I leave you with a beautiful quote from Georges Rodenbach, a Belgian poet and novelist:
The act of writing itself is like an act of love. There is contact. There is exchange too. We no longer know whether the words come out of the ink onto the page, or whether they emerge from the page itself where they were sleeping, the ink merely giving them colour.1
Georges Rodenbach, The Bells of Bruges
1. Georges Rodenbach, The Bells of Bruges (United Kingdom: Dedalus, 2007), 165.
ABOUT WHITNEY ALEXANDER
Whitney Walker Alexander serves as the marketing strategist for books for B&H Publishing. Whitney is a pastor’s wife to her husband, Mat, and they live in Gadsden, Alabama, with their three children, Wattsie, Ford, and Jim, their rambunctious dogs, Boyce and Althea. When Whitney isn’t marketing books, she is reading books, making to-do lists, and laughing with her family. You can follow Whitney on Instagram at @whitneywalexander.
