Letters To My Husband (A short story)

Letters to My Husband

In the small town of Clifton, Arkansas there lived an elderly woman of about 83 years of age by the name of Mary, Mary Slacks.  With grey hair, and wrinkled expression she lived out her life in a cottage in the woods of Clifton.  Oh how she loved God!  She worshiped him every day and gave glory to his name.  Mary never married or dated for she trusted God would bring her true love.  She had been writing letters to this man every day since she was a little girl to give to him when married.  On the last night she would ever spend in Clifton she wrote her last letter, saying; “Dearest Husband I cannot wait for you to be with me in the kingdom of heaven, I love you more than you know. With much love your loving wife Mary.”

In Mary’s old age she had left the stove on after making dinner.  The Fire Department was too late; the house had been engulfed by the jaws of the fiery blaze.  Everything was destroyed and Mary Killed, but out of the fire came a silver lining.  A small metal box was found by the Chief by the name of Dan.  After returning to the station he decided to investigate the contents of the box in hopes of finding a relative’s name or address.  What he found were hundreds of sheets of paper written in letter format.  As he began to read he noticed these were addressed to an unnamed husband.  As he read further he found a splendid simplicity and beauty in the way she spoke of the unnamed man. 

Dan had not been a man of God and of little faith that there even is one.  Yet he felt something in these letters drawing him in.  He lived a solitary life as the towns Fire Chief.  Everyone who knew Dan knew him as a man with what they call in Clifton “bad lady luck”.  With no faith but common interest he began reading the letters to find out who Mary had been referring to in her letters.  Mary had mentioned God in her letters and how her husband is the very model of his Beauty in her life.  With that he went to Church one Sunday to see if the gentlemen she spoke of would be there.  He did not find what he was looking for but found something new.  The Pastor of the Church had started a sermon on Gods undying love.  This moved Dan to tears as he had chosen to be saved that day.

30 years have passed since Dan had given his life to Christ he had retired from the Fire Department during this time and in those 30 years he went on various mission trips and participated in many outreaches in the U.S.  He had Glorified Gods name and did so in good Faith.  One evening while teaching the small group at his church about Love and Marriage a young man asked with good intent why he had never been married.  His response was hesitant and steady.  “Because I . . . . . I’m not sure myself,”” I guess I never really thought about it”” The man’s words laid heavy on Dan’s shoulders.

Later at home he had rummaged through some old boxes looking for the one he’d found so many years ago.  Upon finding the box that belonged to Mary, he opened it with the blind intent of a child.  Drawing out the letters he had long sense forgotten from the day he had been saved.  He began to read again.  Reading letter after letter he began to fall in love with the women who wrote the beautiful words about her husband. 

Upon continuing his lesson at small group he told the class he was in love.  They persistently asked who this mystery woman was.  After telling them she was in heaven waiting for him sounds of sighs, and awe’s filled the class.  They didn’t understand what he truly had meant by the statement but they had good intent. 

Dan kept reading the letters till he lay on his deathbed.  With his last bit of life left he read the last note Mary had written.  “Dearest Husband I cannot wait for you to be with me in the kingdom of heaven, I love you more than you know. With much love your loving wife Mary.”  With that Dan had died and woke in a bright and wondrous place.  Before him stood a man and that mas was God.   He led him to the gates and spoke of what was beyond the gates for him and all who came to Heaven.  Entering the gates Dan saw a figure standing a few yards away.  “Mary?” he asked, “Yes” she replied with a voice as soft as a Psalm.  “It’s me” Dan!”” with expecting eyes he waits for a response.   “I know and I’ve been waiting for you.”  She took his hand and they began to walk into the Paradise that awaits them.

“What’d  you think of the letters?”