Emergency Letters

July 12, 2025 — Laura House

When Nathan was ten, Gary and I won a trip to Cancun. Rarely traveling without the kids, this was a new adventure for us, and for them. As we pulled out of our driveway to head to my parent’s house, where the kids would be pampered by grandparents for the duration of our trip, Nathan spotted his beloved cat, Todd, clearly limping. After examining his abscessed leg, I knew we were in trouble and thoughts of missing the tropical paradise surfaced. I quickly called my close friend, who offered to take Todd to the vet and then drop him at the kennel where we were boarding our coonhound until our return. Jill had eight children and understood the rarity of a trip like this. Bless her.
 
I had written an “emergency” letter for each child and told them that if they became really sad and missed us too much, they could open the letter. Both sets of grandparents were amazing people, so I knew the kids were in good hands. Driving grandpa’s tractor,“Mr. White,” cooking and shopping with grandma, and playing with cousins were all on the agenda while we were gone.
 
So, we headed to the airport in Indianapolis, and from there, paradise — an “all-inclusive” resort. I’d never heard of that, but it sounded good. Turns out, it meant that you could eat at any restaurants you wanted to, travel to the other sister hotels to use their amenities, and have waiters come by your cabana on the beach to offer you a cool lemonade or iced tea. Seriously! For this tired mom, it was heaven.
 
Phoning home on the third day, we spoke briefly to each child and were informed that “Nathan had to use his emergency letter.” I’m not entirely sure if he really needed to use it or just wondered what was in it, but we talked for a few minutes, enough to satisfy me that he was fine and having fun. Just recently, I found his emergency letter and enjoyed reading the words of comfort and love I had written to him.
 
When Nathan was in his early twenties, he and Megan were chatting about the emergency letter incident and our trip. She asked him if he remembered how long we were gone. His response? Two weeks. Reality? Four days. They had a good chuckle at that.
 
After losing Nathan, I found that I needed an “emergency letter” often — usually many times a day. In the Bible, we find God’s message of love to us, comfort, and truths that help us navigate the difficult journey of earthly life. There are so many favorite passages that I have now, nine years down this road of grief…powerful words that bring new life to my weary soul. 
 
I’m sharing a handful of my favorites and want to offer a few suggestions for helping store them in your heart.

First, try to commit some to memory. I’ll admit, I’m terrible at memorizing scripture. I desperately want to, but somehow it just doesn’t “stick” very well. If you are new to the journey of loss, grief brain also gets in the way. Many parents have shared that they write scriptures on sticky notes and post them wherever they’ll be seen around the house, in the car, on their computer, etc. If you pause to say them out loud, not only will your brain hear the spoken words of comfort, but it helps the memorization process.
 
Next, if you are too tired or overwhelmed to read, listen to scripture on an app or YouTube. Sometimes I follow along in my Bible and other times, I just close my eyes and listen closely. Are you awake at night with no hope of sleep? Listening to scripture can soothe your soul and give your brain something to think about instead of focusing on upcoming tasks or worries that fill it and keep you awake.
 
Amazingly, there are several musicians who have written catchy tunes with lyrics that are directly from scripture. In the same way that I still remember the songs that I used to teach my children the definitions of nouns, verbs, and historical information thirty years ago, these songs can assist with memorizing scripture. One of my very favorite passages is Isaiah 43:1-3. A musician with a beautiful voice, Esther Mui, set it to music, and has produced many other scripture songs. Those can be found here.  Psalm 91 is set to music by Sounds Like Reign here. Poor Bishop Hooper, a husband/wife duo, created the Every Psalm Project that you can listen to here. As you likely have already discovered, the Psalms are an incredible source of comfort, a guide for us to use as we lament, and are full of worship, praise, and promises. 
 
Do you need an emergency letter right now? The Bible is full of them. 
 
Isaiah 43: 1- 3a 
“But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you. “For I am the Lord your God,…”

John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”