More Than Words On A Page

Spending much of the last two days resting and trying to get over the flu, I decided this was the perfect time to listen to an audiobook I received for Christmas from one of my brothers called Abigail Adams: Her Letters. I haven't finished it yet, but I have really enjoyed learning more about Abigail Adams' life. She wrote over 2100 letters in her lifetime, many of which were letters of encouragement, prayer, and general information to her husband who was away from his wife for much of their marriage due to his political duties. There is a saying that "behind every good man is a great woman" and Abigail Adams was certainly the great woman behind her husband John Adams, second President of the United States. She was also probably one of the most influential people in her sons' lives. Her oldest son John Quincy Adams, who became the sixth President of the United States, began traveling with his father on business trips when he was 10 years old. It was during one of these trips that Abigail wrote him a letter in which she says:

"My dear son, 

these are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not is the still calm of life or in the repose of a pacific station that great characters are formed, the habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues." 

There was more to her letter, but this part really stood out to me. She wrote so articulately and with purpose. Just reading or listening to her letters you learn so much about who she was as a woman, what things were important to her, what she valued in life, and where her focus was. She was focused on serving God, her husband, and her country. She was devoted to building others up with encouragement. It definitely got me thinking about what my letters say about me and what things I hold to be important. What do you want your letters to say about you? Things to think on as I strive to improve my letter writing. =)

~Striving for Christ,

Marissa