The Ministry of Letters

The following poem has been pinned to the wall in my office for many years, a reminder of the call of God on my life to write letters of encouragement. I, too, have felt like quitting. Packing it in! Over the past 30 years I've wondered if these notes, cards and letters were really making any difference. But, the Lord continues to re-affirm His calling and I keep writing. Sometimes unwillingly. But I write. For, when I write, I feel His pleasure. - David W. Fisher

Lord, I sometimes think
I can’t strike another typewriter key,
I can’t write another paragraph or word,
I can’t even put down a period
at the end of a sentence.
I look at the fat bundle
of unanswered letters
and it all seems so futile.
so time-consuming, so unending
I can’t think or concentrate.
What I write seems empty, lifeless.
I struggle to keep my thoughts coherent.
Yet, I know I must keep on.
I have committed myself
to a ministry of writing –
Writing letters!


The Pen is Mightier
Than the Sword

And often, God, when I begin to question
my personal commitment
You send me a ray of hope…
a personal rainbow.
Someone stops to say,
“Ten years ago, when I need it most,
you sent me a letter of encouragement.
I’ve read it a hundred times.
It’s worn and tear-stained
but I’ll treasure it forever.”
Lord, I don’t even remember writing.
It’s been so long. But it doesn’t matter.
I see again the value of ministry
and so I’ll continue.
But first, Lord,
I must put a period after the sentence
I so wearily wrote just an hour ago.

- Ruth Harms Calkin


In His love, David

Note: Epistle Sports Ministries, a letter-writing ministry of encouragement to athletes, was founded in 1975 and continues to reach out with "an encouraging word".