My dearest Pam,
Recently I quoted a line from Oh Little Town of Bethlehem in one of my letters. Today I go back to this, one of my favorite Christmas carols.
Verse three begins with this line:
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
Following the turn you took on Sunday, you have been minimally communicative; often only a smile or a look. Since I consider Advent, Christmas and Epiphany basically all one holiday season, I am still steeped in Christmas music so naturally my mind went to this stanza. Silently the gift of our love is still given.
I don’t need your verbal praise, verbose conversation or even to hear you say, “I love you” to know the depth at your love and the strength of our commitment.
Even silently the wondrous gift of your love is given. Take no offense, I know the gift Phillips Brooks was describing when he penned this song, allow me to extend this “wonderful “ to the love that we share. I don’t need to see the sparkle in your eye, nor the echo of your voice in my ear to know the depth of love that has sustained us for these many years.
I pray the sparkle and echo return, but they are not a predicate to my love for you, let alone the honor this love deserves.
My precious darling, I doubt you ever read this letter, but if you do, know that I love you so passionately and deeply that silence can not quell the melody in my heart when we are together.
I close with the final line of the song:
Oh come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel
I love you.
Brad