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*Unopened Letters* 1/7/02 __________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of HeartTouchers.com readers around the world by sending an e-mail with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ Happy New Year from HeartTouchers.com From now on we will be offering our book, Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" for only $13 (instead of the regular price of $14.95), and best of all, we will pay the shipping! So if you have any interest in purchasing an autographed copy of the book for yourself, or as a gift for your loved ones, now is the time to get it! To order your autographed copy send a check or money order for $13 (We pay the shipping!) for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 To preview the book by reading some of the stories visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ AOL Users Click below: Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life _________________________________________ Happy Monday! Wanted to let everyone know that the mentor in my life who discovered he had cancer, will be going to the doctor's today to see what his options are... Please continue to lift him and his family up in prayer. To the best of my knowledge, the doctors believe they caught the cancer in time and the prognosis is very good....Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for him the last couple of weeks! From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ UNOPENED LETTERS By Melanée Addison Mr. Elijah was about sixty-five years old when he killed himself. He simply got up one morning, neatly laid his slippers on the window ledge and jumped 30 stories to his death. Everyone in the neighborhood talked about it, and the obvious conclusion was that he just couldn't take it anymore. His wife had died of cancer years before and they had no children, so he lived alone. He never had any visitors, and over the years I had watched his countenance go from friendly and open to surly and withdrawn. My earliest memories of Mr. Elijah were when I was about four years old. My mother and I had just moved into the neighborhood. I suppose that because he and Mrs. Elijah had no children of their own, they took every opportunity to dote on me. I would spend hours with them talking about all the interesting things four-year-olds talk about in the bliss of eating vanilla ice cream. They also gave me stuffed animals and hats and scarves that Mrs. Elijah had knitted for me. However, when I began to attend kindergarten my visits with the Elijah's became less frequent. Soon we would only see each other in passing as I gave the highlights of my new experiences in school. As the years progressed, contact with them faded even further into the blur of school and extracurricular activities. I was about eight years old when Mrs. Elijah had passed on. I hadn't been seeing her around much anymore, and when I did, I noticed that she looked different. Although her warm smile had not changed one bit, her eyes looked weary and she was pale and thin. When I came home from school one day my mom told me that she had died that morning. We went to take some food over to Mr. Elijah's apartment and keep him company. The moment I walked in I felt strange. The warmth and life which used to be so present in their home was gone. Everything seemed dark and alien -- even Mr. Elijah. He sat in the favorite chair where Mrs. Elijah used to bring his meals each day, just staring out of the window in a daze of shock and disbelief. His face was haggard and covered with razor stubble. I didn't know what to say, so I sat there while my mother tried to make conversation and get him to eat. He never even looked away from the window, so we just sat there with him in silence for a little while before leaving. That experience was too unnerving for me, but my mother would continue to bring over meals and make sure he was okay. Soon he stopped answering his door, although my mom she said she could hear him shuffling around inside. Eventually Mr. Elijah did come out of his house. Now and then I saw him going to the store and running errands, but he was never the same again. He stopped speaking to everyone and became a recluse. A few more years went by and things began to change as old friends moved from the neighborhood and new people began to come in. Mr. Elijah, once a robust man had shrunken considerably but continued to wear his old clothes, which were dirty, tattered and hung on his slight frame. The new kids were scared of him and made up stories about him hiding in dark corners trying to snatch them unaware. My mother periodically tried to visit, but he was aloof and refused to let her in. I will never forget the last time I saw Mr. Elijah before his death. He had a shopping bag in his hand and was walking towards our building. I gave my usual unreciprocated greeting as he mumbled something under his breath, never even looking up at me. I looked down and realized that he had gone to the store in his house slippers. The same slippers that were sitting on the ledge of his window after he was gone. My mother, the only person known closest to him, was asked by the authorities to identify his body. Afterwards, my mother and I were allowed to search his apartment to help find contact information for any relatives or friends to notify of this tragedy. There was nothing around but boxes of old dusty books and pictures taken of him and his wife throughout the years. As we were about to leave, I noticed a black trunk under his bed and we pulled it out. It was filled with what seemed like hundreds of unopened letters, many yellowed with age. The return address was from C.S. Elijah -- neither Mr. nor Mrs. Elijah's initials. As we opened up the most recent letters we discovered that Mr. Elijah had a younger brother. From what we could make out, there was a situation that caused a rift in their relationship many years ago but his brother had been persistently seeking reconciliation throughout the years. The letters were absolutely touching, filled with recollections of their years growing up and all the love and fun they shared. He always ended each letter with a yearning plea for his big brother to contact him but maintained that he would continue to respect his wishes to never see him again. Enclosed in some of his letters were notes, cards and drawings from his children to their uncle. The youngest was just a little older than I was. There were letters with birth announcements, school and family portraits, holiday cards, birthday party and graduation invitations, and more. My mother and I were so engrossed in this discovery that we barely noticed the tears streaming down our own, let alone each other's faces. As soon as Mr. Elijah's brother had walked into the apartment, I felt as though I was transported back in time. He looked just like I remembered Mr. Elijah as a young child. Oddly, it frightened and comforted me at the same time. Behind him was his wife and their three children -- two girls and a boy. They now ranged from their late teens to early twenties. Suddenly my mind shot back to all the hours I spent sitting where they should have been, eating ice cream and telling their stories. My stomach dropped and my eyes began to sting from rising tears. The sadness and pain on Mr. Elijah's brother's face was almost tangible as he silently walked around touching his brother's things, picking up familiar items, staring at and holding them as if trying to recapture his brother's spirit. His wife and children followed at a close distance, but my mom and I respectfully stayed behind to allow the family their space. Moments after going into the bedroom, his brother let out a loud anguished cry, breaking down into wrenching sobs. Immediately I knew he had found the open trunk full of letters. "Why? Why?", he agonized. "Didn't he know how much I loved him? He never opened any of my letters!" He now began wailing in distress. His wife and children were also crying. At this, my mother and I decided to leave, unable to fight back our tears. Once outside the apartment, my chest began heaving in sobs as I buried myself in my mother's comforting arms. Fifteen years later as I clearly recall this, I think how Mr. and Mrs. Elijah tried to substitute me for their own family who just wanted so desperately to share their lives with them. It still saddens me to know that Mr. Elijah did not have to die despondent, alone, lonely, bitter and angry. He had so much and yet he never knew it because he refused to open his letters. It also makes me think of how God in His undying love, longs to share Himself and His life with us. Each day that we mercifully awaken with the breath of life is His plea of reconciliation, and each night that we retire without acknowledging Him and His word is like having an unopened letter with an invitation to receive our heart's desire. It is my prayer that none should pass from this existence without ever knowing what they truly could have had. Please open up His letters and read them. God Bless. "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 Melanée Addison mel1297@hotmail.com Write Melanée and give her your thoughts on her story! __________________________ Melanée Addison is 32 years old and currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts. "My inspiration and desire in life is to allow to God reveal Himself through the outpourings of my heart and mind, my actions and the words of my mouth". If what I write touches someone, then praise The Lord, "for it is God who works in us to will and act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13) _________________________________________ Reader Feedback! Dear HeartTouchers, That was another great story by Roger Kiser. I am always enlightened and inspired when I read any of his work. He is definitely gifted by God and yes, I have read his book, Orphan. It is wonderful and I shall read it again. We all face adversity of one type or another. Child abuse is the worst in my opinion. I have suffered child abuse, physical and sexual. That is not why I chose to write. I also have bad health. But the wonderful things in my life far outweigh the bad ones that are in the past. I have a wonderful husband, two lovely daughters with seven great grandchildren. I have so much to be thankful for and I really really believe if I had not gone through the bad times, I might not appreciate the good times as much. I may be wrong but I don't think so. I also believe life is just about what you make it. You are the only one who can change one iota about yourself. And you absolutely cannot change one thing about anyone else. So don't waste your time trying. Leave that to God. He can do it. God has had His hand on me since I was a small child giving me the strength to endure and to rise above the situations in my life. He also showed Himself to me at a very young age and that is what kept me going. Knowing He was there for me and He never left me nor forsook me. And even before I was born, He selected this fine boy for me and we met when I was thirteen and our families had lived in the same cities before I was born even in Ashvillle, NC on the same street at one time. God was there preparing the way for us to meet when He was ready and when He knew it was the right time and it was. We have been married for 43 years since I was 17 and I thank God for this fine man every day of my life. Thanks for listening. God bless you and keep this site going and growing. Nanci L. Stroupe ONENONI@aol.com Roger, Your story about the handicapped children was absolutely beautiful!! Thank you! As a mother of a fully grown young woman, who was handicapped, yet, totally mainstreamed and vivacious, I have always wondered why more is not done for the handicapped, to make them feel "normal," because they are. They truly are. Thank you for that beautiful illustration! Blessings, Jaye Lewis jlewis@smyth.net ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / HeartTouchers@aol.com /_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no \_\/\ \ longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I \_\/ live in the body I live for the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 ___________________________________________ The copyrights to the stories that appear in HeartTouchers.com are owned by the authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown." (All of which violates Copyright Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted and been given permission by the individual writer. Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who graciously share their stories with us! __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched--they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Kelli-- College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies! Check out the web page for Michael's video production business! Visit: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/ AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines ___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@AOL.COM Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Give it a day or two to be processed... __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws __________________________________________ A number of people have written to us asking what an EBook is, since our book is being offered in both print and EBook versions. An EBook is a book that can be downloaded and read right on your computer. The advantage of ordering the EBook is that is costs less, $8.95 (No other charges), as compared to $14.95 + shipping and handling for the print book. Plus you can download the EBook and begin reading the stories in a few minutes! EBooks are read via Acrobat Reader, which is software that most of you already have on your computer. And if for some reason you don't, it can be downloaded free of charge at the web site. So for those of you who don't want to wait for the print book to be delivered, check out this web site to order the EBook version of Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life." http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/michaeltpowers01.html AOL Users Click here |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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