What’s in a letter? For men and women in prison, hope

Letter writing is a lost art.

In a world of email, text messaging and social media, many of us are missing out on the joy and intimacy that can be found in the exchange of letters.

Remember what it feels like to open your mailbox and in the middle of a pile of junk mail, you find an envelope with your name written on it. You open it and find a card and a letter with a handwritten message just for you.

What’s in a letter? Connection, care, joy.

For men and women in prison, a letter also brings something else – hope. At Crossroads Prison Ministries, we hear from our students all the time about how letters from their mentors lift them up in an environment that is always pushing them down.

A Crossroads student named Steve recently wrote a letter to our office, thanking his Crossroads mentor for the letter she wrote him.

“Why the letter was so encouraging is what my mentor mentions in her letter is just what I was going through,” Steve wrote. “Tough times. What ifs. Should haves. If onlys. I have had many sleepless nights thinking about my past lately.”

The letter Steve received from his mentor, Karen, was the perfect message for what he was struggling with. “The letter was very uplifting and it was like she knew exactly what I was dealing with,” he said. “I read her letter several times. It was like a burden was lifted off my shoulders.”

Want to know what Karen wrote that inspired so much hope in Steven? Read the letter below (sharing with permission from Karen and Steven).

Want to share hope with men and women in prison? Sign up to become a Crossroads mentor.