I had my very first pen pal when I was in grade six.  He lived in Australia and it would literally take months for our letters to get back and forth to each other.  My English teacher at the time felt that there was no better way to learn the true art of the written word than to personally express it to someone else.  And so, for years, I wrote to a boy I didn’t know…who lived in a country I had never seen…living a life I could barely believe!

But the thing of it was that – thanks to him – I could imagine what that life was like.  I could imagine what his neighborhood was like…how he spent his weekends…and what Christmas was like without snow.  Because he wrote to me…I could imagine what life looked like through his eyes.

It’s been a very, very long time since we last sent letters to each other…but I can still remember the handwriting sometimes.

Janelle and I had built a very similar relationship over the course of the past many months.  As plans were made and pieces fell into place, new emails would pop into my inbox.  I could sense the anticipation…the joy…the excitement.  And the more her sweet words found their way to me…I more I got to know this lovely girl and the amazing love story that brought her in my direction.

Because she wrote to me…I could imagine what life was starting to look like through her eyes.

Eventually, when I met Janelle and Mitch for the first time on a cold Sunday afternoon, it wasn’t really like meeting for the first time at all.  It was like meeting an old friend for coffee and picking up right where we left off.  It was like meeting someone I had always known.  It was like being a part of a life that I had never really left.

After the first of many laughs, we trekked out into the snow for a first spin in front of my camera before their wedding this coming summer.

And as the snow crunched beneath our feet…as the cold wind blew between the trees…and as the sun set beyond the horizon…I began to think of how blessed I was to live in a world where words can bring us together.  A world that enables us share our experiences…our stories…our selves.  A world where we can imagine life through someone else’s eyes.

I’m blessed to live in a world where I get to play in the snow with Janelle and Mitch…